If only a smile
by Wai - Aki
Summary: Completed AU. Omi and Ken are Schwarz members? Schuldich and Nagi in Weiss? Two telekinetics and two telepaths. Two of Kritiker's top teams, rivals. What happens when they have to work together? Last chapter uploaded!
1. Before Black and White met

Title: If only a smile  
by: ~Solaris~  
Genre: Romance, Humor  
Warning: Shounen-ai (No actual Yaoi! We're not good at writing lemon or lime), AU, OOC and overall weirdness  
Pairings: Ran+Ken, Youji+Schuldich (not sure yet), Nagi+Omi  
Rating: PG-13

Teaser: (AU) Schwarz and Weiss, two assassin teams that are employed by Kritiker and yet are arch enemies. It all becomes a roller coaster ride when the two are forced to work together to piece a complicated mission involving a serial killer and his next victim...one of Schwarz's members.

Note:   
"Speech"   
'_Telepathy/thoughts_'

Disclaimer: (Aki) Let's put it this way: We all have only five bucks each. Do you honestly think we can afford to own ANY character from Weiss Kreuz? (Minna) *sweatdrops*

One day at the Koneko... 

One Kudou Youji was busy, as usual. Not busy helping out his fellow team members with the going ons in the flower shop, no! Surely, the playboy has better things to do than just that! He had an even greater purpose in life than just tending some measly flower shop. 

He, had a mission. His sole purpose in life, besides killing of the 'bad guys' by the moon's light, which is nothing more than...getting all of the phone numbers of the girls of 18 years and older. 

His team leader, unfortunately, has a different idea in mind. And by threatening glares and promises of certain death by the all-known katana-wielder, the playboy finally succumbs to the hell that is cutting roses. 

"Kuso! Itai!" The fifth time today that sound came from Youji, only to be met by two dozen girls tending to his needs. That being, bringing him drinks, food and one too many band-aids. From one corner of the shop, Ran was eyeing his katana darkly, ready to kill Youji if he doesn't get back to work in five seconds. 

Meanwhile, at another part of Kyoto...

All was well in the lair of the feared assassin group Schwarz. Or as good as it gets. The leader of this group was busily typing at his notebook, a mobile in one hand. Apparently he was busy talking to the secretary again. New assignment must be nearby. 

A maniacally happy one-eyed Irishman was sitting on the table, polishing some of his prized possessions. If a mission is near, he might as well keep his beauties shiny and sharp. And a little demonstration and test-trial wouldn't hurt either. But not just yet, maybe when there's no one else around. After all, can't have nosy tell-tales to report this to Crawford later. 

Another normal day for Schwarz and Weiss....Well, sort of...

Back to Koneko...

Ran was losing his patience, glaring at Youji with his trademark glare, causing anyone within close proximity to the redhead to run away. But before the leader of Weiss could practice his swordsmanship on his fellow team mate, the other two members of Weiss walked in. Seeing the usual stand-off, they smirked. 

'_Having trouble, gracious leader?_'

A low growl rose from Ran's throat, now ready to go on a rampage. This was not what he needed. A lazy ass playboy who was slacking _again_ and one bothersome telepath. His glare shifted from Youji to the other red-head in the group. 

"Take care of that, Schuldich." He ordered. The response he got from the other was a wide grin, just a hint flirtatious as he strolled casually towards 'The Kudou'. The youngest member of Weiss watched with amusement as Schuldich tapped Youji on the shoulder and pointed out the glaring Ran to Youji. Immediately, the little troop dispersed and Youji went back to cutting roses. 

"Manx just called." The rather short brunette informed Ran. Ran looked back in expectation, as if waiting for the kid to say something more. But he didn't. 

"What did she say Nagi?" He finally asked in exasperation, after hearing no response. 

"Just that there's a new tape coming." Ran nodded once, his attention turning back to Youji. Luckily this time, the oldest member of Weiss has learnt his lesson and stuck at working. The only problem of course now, is that he has one 'Schu' stuck to him. Nagi resisted the urge to laugh, trying to distract himself by fussing over a fern instead of seeing Ran's reaction. 

Schuldich, who looked as if he wasn't planning on having his arms pried off of Youji's waist, merely smiled at their leader and gave a wink. And that was when Koneko had closed early...again. 

Back to Schwarz's lair...

"KEN-KUN, LOOK OUT!" Shouted one genki assassin, his girlish voice raising a few decibels. 

~CRASH!~ 

"Itai!" 

The Irishman looked up from his 'work' and grinned. "Klutzy kitten hurts God!" Just as he said that, in came the other two members. One Omi was shaking his head, an 'I-told-you-so' expression on his face. The other, the older brunette was rubbing his, um, behind due to the fall. 

"Why don't you trip in the kitchen, kitten, that way you can hurt God more." Ken glared at the him. He knew too well of Farf's collection of knives in the kitchen. Tripping there would mean a shower of knives on him. 

"No thanks." He growled as he sat down on the couch, Omi sat down beside him. 

"Crawford busy again?" Asked Omi. 

"Must be." Ken said, before muttering something in the line of 'workaholic' and 'inhuman'. 

'_Uh, uh! Ken-kun, he can see the future, remember? If he finds out..._' 

'Relax, Omi. He can't do anything to me anyway.' The telepath of Schwarz frowned, he didn't seem too sure about that. Even though Ken was the telekinetic of the group, there was still a chance of Brad...err, Crawford being able to kill him in his sleep! 

"What the hell was all that noise?" Speak of the devil. Crawford stalked into the living room, glaring as usual at the klutz of the group. Ken shrugged, smiled and started talking to Omi. Omi didn't groan, he instead sigh as he shook his head. 

'_He tripped over the laundry basket._' 

"You tripped over the laundry basket?" Crawford stated, rather than asked, at Ken. The brunette turned to his best friend, glaring at him and mouthed the worth 'traitor'. 

"So what?" 

"All my best suits were in that basket!" 

"Yeah, well, lets just say you should buy new ones, ne Omitchi?" Omi groaned, hiding his face in his hands. That's the way of digging a deeper hole, Ken! 

"My clothes were in there too, Hidaka." The fourth member of the group supplied. "Nothing happened to them I hope, for your sake." 

"Geez! They're fine, alright!" Ken shouted in exasperation. "Never thought you guys to be the neat freaks." He muttered. Crawford's eyes flashed from behind the dark glasses. 

"Birman wants to meet us, all of us, so we can't afford killing you yet, Siberian. If you no longer prove to be any use for us, you might as well be eliminated." Ken rolled his eyes. 

"Now where did I hear that one before? Yesterday maybe?" He said dryly. "Come within a five meter radius of me and you'll be taking a tour around the Earth!" He warned. 

"Maa, maa, Ken-kun, Jei-kun, Brad...err, Crawford-san." Omi immediately blushed at his mistake, causing Crawford to glare at him. 'Ken-kun' and 'Jei-kun', however, chuckled at Omi's little slip and especially at Crawford. It was his own mistake that he had left an old business card, with the name "Bradley Crawford" typed in gold letters, for them to find. 

"Get a move on!" Snapped Crawford, as he marched back to his room, no doubt to grab a few of his belongings and then departing for the rendezvous point. Farf went to put away most of the knives away, talking to each one as he put them all away. 

Ken looked at Omi at this point. "Tell me, chibi, are we the only normal ones out of this crackpot of an assassin group?" 

"We're hardly normal, Ken-kun. After all, we both have special powers." Omi pointed out, paused and then added, "And don't call me chibi!" 

Ken grinned. "Alright, we're the only sane ones then...chibi." 

"Mou! Ken-kun!" 

He stared out at the field, watching silently at the screaming children who were all playing a game of soccer. Innocence maintained. On each of the faces of these young boys and girls, it was unmistakable. If any maniac should want to erase innocence with one swipe, this was the place. He gave an involuntary shudder. 

He noticed, however, one brunette who was shouting louder than the rest of the spectators. Then he noticed the dark-haired man's attire. There was only one word to describe him. 

The coach. 

What he noticed next was the stares he was getting himself. After all, he always find ways to stand out from the crowd. Now, maybe it was his red hair that contrasts the green grass...or maybe the color of the orange turtleneck he was wearing now. the object of many of Schuldich's teasing. At the thought of his team mate, he frowned a little. This was a mistake in his part as he lost track of the game, or more importantly, the ball. What he heard next startled him out of his wits. 

"LOOK OUT!" 

And then he saw stars. 

He blinked a few times, trying to focus in on his surrounding, which was, as of now, just swirls of blue, green and lots of brown. As his focus returns, the swirls finally start to take shape.   
One shape in particular, was of a man standing right above him, waving his hand about his face.   
  
"I think we have contact." He heard a voice said.   
  
Then he blinked again and all swirls disappeared and he finally was welcomed back into the real world. And saw that it was the brunette, the coach, that was sitting beside him. The apologetic smile on his face unmistakable, but nonetheless...breathtaking.   
  
And of course, the pain took this moment, the moment where he had just caught himself staring at a *guy*. Cursing under his breath, he struggled to sit up, only finding the brunette carefully helping him up.   
  
"What happened?" He asked, surprised to find his voice not in the usual 'growling, snappish mode' that his teammates like to call.   
  
"You, um, got hit on the head by a soccer ball." The brunette said sheepishly.   
  
"I got hit by a measly soccer ball and PASSED OUT?" He demanded. The brunette grinned.   
  
"I was pretty surprised by that too. Didn't know Yuko here is such a good kicker." The brunette said, gesturing to a guilty looking 8 year old girl with dark hair tied neatly to a pony tail.   
  
He wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Fearless, cold leader of Weiss, taken out of commission by a measly soccer ball kicked by a GIRL! That's it, open mind vault, put this...'accident' in there and lock the vault and see to it that Schu never gets his nosy mind in there. God knows what would happen if anyone finds out about this.  
  
"Don't worry about it, you were caught by surprise." The brunette told him, after a moment of silent observation. The red head looked at him with hidden surprise, his mask back on. But for some reason, the brunette ignored it completely.   
  
"Hidaka Ken." He said, extending his hand. And in turn, as if taken in a daze,   
  
"Fujimiya Ran." He didn't even know he said it at the time. Moments later, he felt incredibly stupid. The lectures that he gives to his teammates at not giving their real name to just anybody...Looks like he'd have to eat his own words now.   
  
What the hell made him do it? It's not as if no one has ever asked him for his name before! But why would this time, this guy be any different? He snapped back to reality to give a quick observation of Hidaka Ken.   
  
There was something about him. His eyes tell his story, he's seen a lot. But despite all that he has seen--whatever they may be--there was no mistaking of the air of innocence, of naivety that he holds around him.   
  
"What were you doing out by the field today anyway? I've never seen you around before." Remarked Ken. There was only one way to answer that question. Lie.   
  
"I was just out on a walk and saw the game, that's all." He said, shrugging his shoulders as if it was nothing. But he saw the look in Ken's eyes. He knew then that the brunette knew that was a complete and total lie. But then he saw acceptance in those eyes.   
  
"Aa, I see. Lots of people usually come around to look at the game anyway. It attracts a lot of attention."   
  
  
  


  
  
"He's late."   
  
"I know."  
  
"But he's NEVER late!"   
  
"I know."   
  
'_Ken-kun!_'   
  
Kami-sama... "Omitchi, he'll be here, alright?" Snapped Ken. Of course, the reply Ken got for  
his remark was a pouting Omi. He groaned, knowing he very well deserved it.   
  
'Ken-kun, it's not like Crawford to be late.'  
  
"_I know, Omitchi. But I don't think you should go to panic mode just yet._" Ken said   
warily.   
  
'_Why not?_' He was being difficult, Ken knew it. But the youngest of the group always   
chooses to stick to telepathy when he's sulking. ESPECIALLY when he's sulking.   
  
Ken pointed at the door, which soon opened to reveal the man of the hour.   
  
"I thought Crawford's the one that can see the future, not you." Omi said, astonished.  
Ken smirked.  
  
"Not when you have his organizer in check every day." Ken said. But upon seeing Omi's  
blank look, he elaborated. "He had a meeting with Birman."   
  
"Oh."   
  
"So how did the meeting go?" Ken asked, after ruffling Omi's hair, much to the younger  
one's discontent.   
  
"Did you hurt God?" Another voice chipped in. The two younger members sweat dropped while  
Crawford sent a direct glare to the third. He marched on into the kitchen, a first-glance  
inspection. They were too used to this, knowing Brad's...err, Crawford's dislike of   
leaving anything plugged in. Too often he found the blender plugged in.  
  
"That blender better be in perfect condition." He said icily, before marching back   
into the living room. "We've got a mission. And you're not going to like it."   
  
_'That's a great start.'_

"So, who's in?" Asked Manx, looking at the group with expectation. And not expecting their answer. 

"Hell no." Youji. 

"......" Nagi. 

"Hmmm...." Schuldich. 

"Iie." One blunt leader of Weiss, Ran. 

Manx sighed. A group of professional assassins reduced into a group of spoiled brats. What will the world come to? 

"I know this is not your dream mission, but in order to crack this case, you need to work together." Manx said reasonably. 

"We never needed their help before, why start now?" Youji pointed out. 

"This is no time to argue. You have no say in this anyway." Manx said. 

"Even though both groups are employed by Kritiker, Weiss and Schwarz have never exactly been working companions." Nagi said diplomatically. 

"We're rivals." Ah, yet another blunt play of words by Ran. 

"Tell me something I don't know." Muttered Manx, before saying in a professional voice, "Schwarz has been most helpful, they are willing to set differences aside for now so both groups can work together." 

"Well too bad." That was it, they've crossed the fine line to Manx's patience. And that means they've also crossed the line of fire. 

"On behalf of Kritiker, I am forcing all of you to accept this mission whether you like it or not. And I will not tolerate any whining, shouting and any offensive language coming from ANY of you. Whether they be by use of tongue or by use of telepathy." She said, practically heaving by the time she finished. That was a real mouthful. 

A sudden chorus followed her words, 

"Sure." Nagi 

"I'm in." Youji, albeit grudgingly. 

"Hn." What do you expect from Ran? 

All eyes rest now on Schuldich, who pretend not to have noticed what was going on and was too busy flipping through a magazine. 

"Oi, Schu, you're pissing her off." Youji said, nudging the German. 

"I was under the impression that I never refused the mission in the first place." He answered calmly, although his eyes was dancing with laughter as he watched Manx's reaction. She looked ready to kill every one of them. 

"I will come, along with Birman and Schwarz, at 1800, two days from today." She said curtly and picked up her things and left in a huff. 

"Guess she wasn't happy about my answer." Schuldich said with a shrug. 

He looked at the field, soccer practice yet again. The brunette was cheering for his team yet again, a brilliant smile on his face. 

'What am I doing here?' The redhead asked himself, shaking his head in self-disgust. But before he could turn and walk away, the brunette had spotted him. 

"Fujimiya-san! Fancy seeing you here again." Ken said with a grin. He motioned the older man to come over. Reluctantly, the redhead approached. But he didn't sit down next to the brunette, instead he pretends to watch the game, although he was more than aware of the stares he was getting from the brunette. 

"You teach everyday?" He asked. Ken's grin widened and he nodded. 

"Pretty much." He replied, looking back at the game. "I love kids and I love soccer even more." 

"You play?" There was a flash of pain in the brunette's eyes and Ran immediately regretted asking the question. But Ken sobered enough to put the mask over his eyes and smiled. 

"Used to. A while back." He said, but Ran noticed that his voice was rather strained. 

"Aa." He said, eyes never leaving the younger man's form. And Ken, in turn, pretended not to notice. But after realizing he had been staring, the redhead looked away quickly. Ken noticed this and tried to hide a knowing grin on his face. 

"I still don't get why we have to go to their turf." Muttered Ken, shaking his head. 

"Quit your complaining, Hidaka." Snapped Crawford, he looked more irritated than usual and acted more like an asshole than usual too. Ken rolled his eyes and shrugged. 

_'Don't get him angry, Ken-kun.'_ Warned Omi. 

_'A little too late for that, chibi.'_ Ken said wryly. Omi didn't even protest over the nickname that Ken used and instead looked at their leader and sighed. Ken, on the other hand, had his eyes on the fourth member of their team, lagging behind. 

"Farf, keep up will you? We don't want you lost." 

"Being lost hurts God." The Irishman said with an insane grin. 

"No, a psycho loose in a city like this does not hurt God. We don't want Crawford to maul your ass now do we?" Ken asked, when the other didn't look convinced, he added coaxingly, "Besides, Schwarz and Weiss in the same room together hurts God more." 

It was then that he complied, walking next to Omi this time. 

_'I watch the crazy one-eyed man?'_

_'Yes, Omitchi. You watch Farf.'_ Ken said, massaging his temples. 

"Alright, we're approaching Weiss grounds." Manx said. "I don't want any of you misbehaving." She paused, pointing a manicured finger at Farfarello. "Especially you. I mean it." 

The Irishman looked at her skeptically then turned to Omi. "Would killing the cat hurt God?" Omi tried to muffle his chuckles by attempting to answer the question. 

"No, that would only make God happy." The youngest of the group replied, earning a glare from Manx and a chuckle from Ken. 

"Alright then." Farf said, agreeing the Omi's answer. 

"Nice save." Whispered Ken. 

_'I thought Manx was about to kill me.'_ Omi thought, groaning. Ken grinned. 

_'Doubt it, if she kills you, Farf'll kill her.'_ Ken pointed out. But the smiles on both Ken and Omi's faces dropped when they stopped in front of a flower shop. The shop's name caused the members of Schwarz to raise an eyebrow. 

"Koneko no sumu ie." Read Omi. 

"Nani? Not exactly a name I'd think for where a group of assassins would work." Commented Ken, raising an eyebrow skeptically. 

"Would a group of assassin work in a flower shop in the first place?" Omi said. 

"Weiss obviously does." Crawford said, his tone back to normal. Apparently he didn't know this bit of information either. 

"Let's go inside. They're already waiting in the basement." Manx said impatiently. 

Thank you for reading the first chapter of "If only a smile". Please review. 

~Solaris 


	2. A Schwarz's Past

**If only a smile**  
Chapter 2 - A Schwarz's Past  
by ~Solaris~  
Warnings: AU, OOC, shounen-ai and twisting the original Weiss plotline and rewriting the story  
Pairings: Ran+Ken, Youji+Schuldich, Nagi+Omi  
Rating: PG-13 (dark themes, cussing etc.) 

Standard Disclaimer applies 

Notes:  
"Speech"  
'_Telepathy/thoughts_' 

It's not everyday that you get to meet another assassin group, especially if it happens to be a rival assassin group. Yes, despite all this rivalry between them, Weiss and Schwarz have never met. This is why both Manx and Birman have been wondering all these years why these two even stated they were rivals! 

Don't you need to come face to face with them before you can call them your rival? Whatever logic these two assassin teams were using, they seem to be using the same one. So why the hell can't we all just get along? 

One agitated Youji was standing in one corner, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, close to finishing his fifth pack of cigarette for the day. Even though he smokes, Youji doesn't usually smoke this much. But he wouldn't be nervous with the prospect of meeting a longtime rival? One you've never met before, mind you. 

Nagi and Ran were the only calm ones. Ran was glaring at Youji, finding himself being slowly annoyed by the blonde one's antics. Nagi, however, was casually flipping pages of some magazine he found. Ran just hoped it wasn't one of Youji's magazines. Kami knows what magazines Youji keeps. 

Schuldich was the one making the most out of this meeting, watching Ran glare at Youji and the obvious discomfort shown on the blonde's face and in his thoughts. But Schu promised Birman that he wouldn't pull any of his telepathic powers just for the day. After all, we can't go scaring the other team can't we? Maybe at the end of the day... 

Birman looked at her watch, making a small noise of disapproval at the time and then looked up. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. Manx was late. But before she could mutter any comment to the other secretary, a noise from the floor above confirmed Manx's arrival. Along with Schwarz's. 

Of course, both secretaries are on name-to-name basis with each assassin group. Birman usually takes care of Schwarz's mission tapes and Manx takes care of Weiss', but on occasion, the two women can change roles. Sometimes Manx would bring in tapes for Schwarz and Birman would call Weiss for the report on their latest mission. 

"Birman?" Manx called out. 

"Mission room." Sounds of footsteps going down the staircase to the mission room could be heard and the occupants of the room waited with trepidation at the arrival of Schwarz. Manx came down first, looking annoyed at something and she shot a glare at someone behind her. 

The person behind Manx had silver hair, nearing white. He had a patch over his eye and was leering at the room, expecting someone to jump out and ready to strike. Manx threw the man one glare and he smirked, an insane smile and then moved to the side waiting for his keeper of the day. 

The next one caused them to raise an eyebrow. A kid of about Nagi's age, perhaps older, stepped down. He had blonde hair and was blinking his blue eyes to look around the room. He quickly stepped towards the first man, pulling him over to an unoccupied corner of the room. 

The third member that came down caused Ran to freeze altogether. Rich brown hair and jade eyes peered at the room, widening for a moment when they clashed with Ran's violet eyes but it was quickly masked with a false cheerfulness. Ken has one effective mask. The cheerfulness was almost genuine. 

And lastly, the figure that stepped down caused the members of Weiss to drop their jaws altogether. Ladies and gentlemen, Bradley Crawford is in the building. Crawford was wearing one of his well-tailored business suit, picking a suitable color of black this time, with a matching tie. His dark sunglasses reflected the light coming from the only source of light in the room, a small lamp on one of the nearby desks. He's not just a member of Schwarz, he IS Schwarz. Or so the members of Weiss thought. 

Omi raised his eyebrow slightly, some of them were thinking a little loud after all. But because he's such a sportive little bishounen, Omi blocked any thoughts from filtering through. For now, he'll do with the introduction with Weiss, who didn't look as intimidating as Farf does. 

There was the tall, lanky blonde, who looked too sultry for his own good in tight clothing. Omi forced himself from making any comments of the blonde's clothes and then turned his attention to the next person. The boy, around his age, that sat silently near one of the redheads. He was regarding the room calmly and for a moment, his eyes locked with Omi's. Omi felt his breath caught for a moment. Whatever it was that he saw in the other boy's eyes... 

Placing a mental block, just in case, Omi looked at Ken. '_Ken-kun?_' 

The brunette managed to peel his eyes off Ran's for a moment to look at Omi with questioning eyes. '_What's wrong Omi?_' 

'_Anno, will Manx-san be introducing us with our real names?_' There was a nervous twinge in the thought and Ken noted it straight away. Ken has always been the perceptive one. Someone's got to be after all. 

'_I don't know, Omi. But it doesn't matter anyway._' Ken said, eyes looking back at Ran. But before Omi could ask more questions, Manx spoke up. 

"As much as both Weiss and Schwarz hated this meeting, it's inevitable." Manx stated. "This new mission will involve the two teams working together." Manx caught Birman's eyes and the latter nodded her head. 

"However, to gain trust from both sides, however impossible as that might seem, we will need BOTH teams to cooperate and state your code names AND real names." Birman said. There were protests from Weiss, but Schwarz remained silent. Mostly because Ken had expected it and Omi...was glaring. The young assassin shook his head in disgust, not at all willing to disclose any information regarding his past. 

Hell, none of the members of Schwarz was willing. Too many blood, tears, and torture shrouded their pasts. Especially one involving a place with the name of Rozenkreuz (Just for the record, the Rozenkreuz we're talking about is NOT what you guys are thinking.) No, Schwarz didn't want to share any information with Weiss, especially concerning their past. And they knew by giving their real names, Weiss would definitely start a search for any background information on them. 

But who's willing to argue with Birman? Especially when she has Manx to back her up. It was too confusing, too much of a headache and a total waste of time. Next thing you know, they'll have direct orders from Persia. 

Birman's glare directed straight at Omi. She had an idea what the young telepath was thinking and as a punishment of some sort, she's making him start with the introduction. Omi sighed inwardly and threw a glance at Ken. The brunette shrugged in response and raised an eyebrow as if to say, "It's your call." 

"Which name do you want Birman-san?" Omi said calmly, although Ken knew his best friend was far from calm. Upon hearing Omi's answer, Birman's eyes softened. Omi looked at the members of Weiss and with a smile, he finally spoke to them. 

"Code names Bombay. Real name Tsukiyono Omi." He said. Birman thought he had finished and was about to gesture to Farfarello to say something when Omi added, "Former name Takatori Mamoru." 

Ah, the ultimate name. Ran's eyes flashed and he snarled something under his breath. His teammates were ready to leap out of his path. But Manx knew this was coming and intervened before anything drastic might happen. 

"Omi is Persia's son." She said simply, drawing a snort from the young blonde. 

"Calling me his son might imply that he actually cares for me, Manx-san and I'd rather not do that. Takatori Mamoru died the day the gates of hell opened." Ken threw a concerned look at Omi, but it looked as if the blonde's mask was on again. He was smiling cheerfully at everyone. Ken nearly winced. 

But of course, Hidaka Ken never shows any unnecessary emotion. Never his real emotions. He would throw on various emotions in order to maintain a 'genuine' idea for his own mask, but he would never show what he's really feeling. That would break his mask and Ken had the strongest mask of all. No one knows it existed. 

"Gates of hell?" Asked Youji. 

"In a place called Rozenkreuz." Ken said, voice flat. His direct nature, however, caused Crawford to glare at him. 

"I don't think it's appropriate that you release such information, Siberian." He snapped at the brunette. 

"So what? They're going to be looking into our files later anyway. Might as well give them a shortcut." Ken said with a shrug. Crawford looked ready to murder someone while Farf chuckled. 

"You know you shouldn't piss Brad off kitty-cat." Farf said, causing Ken to roll his eyes. 

"I thought you were keeping an eye on the madman, chibi?" Ken muttered at Omi, who blinked innocently. 

"Alright, enough!" Snapped Manx. "Siberian, state your name now." 

"Code name Siberian and real name Hidaka Ken." He answered smoothly. Being the one in trouble most with Crawford, Ken has mastered the art of answering any question with one sentence. It's saved his life more than once when it comes to Crawford's temper. Of course, the fact that he's also a telekinetic never hurt either. 

"Real name Farfarello Jei and code name...Farfarello." Omi said, answering for the Irishman. After all, Ken and Omi were the only ones with a real codename anyway. They can't afford to have anyone digging into their pasts while Farfarello and Crawford didn't really care, except of course, of the events in Rozenkreuz. 

And then came the moment they were all waiting for. Crawford. Is he or isn't he? The three members of Schwarz knew Crawford HATED his name and would do just about anything to keep it a secret. Including kill. 

"Bradley Crawford." There was a slight twitch in his left eye as he said it, which caused Ken, Omi and even Farf to look away before they piss Crawford off. But damn! Containing laughter has never been one of their skills. 

The laughter was forgotten when Nagi spoke up, after getting a nod from Manx. "Naoe Nagi, codename Prodigy." 

"Kudo Youji, code name Balinese." Youji said, still observing Schwarz, but with much interest this time. His vision of Schwarz is a complete opposite of who Schwarz really is. What seem to be a ruthless team of amateur assassins turned out to be a mix of two strange men and two ordinary, naive boys. Whether or not their skills were up to Weiss standards, they would have to see. 

"Schuldich." The German, smiling seductively at the members of Schwarz, ignored the expectant look from Manx. But they seemed unfazed by the name and by his smile. Damn assassins, too many masks. 

"Fujimiya Ran, code name Abyssinian." Ran's glare was still fixated on Ken, but the brunette was looking at anywhere but at him. 

"Now that the introductions are settled, we can go down to the mission." Birman said looking relieved that it was over and done with. She produced videotape out of her bag and proceeded to the VCR. Manx handed out files to the members of both team as the TV flickered on. 

"Your mission is a difficult one. It doesn't involve infiltration of any sort, but it involves trying to catch a killer." Manx said. 

"Killer?" Youji asked. 

"Hai, a serial killer to be exact. No one knows who this person is, but he or she has killed 5 people so far." 

"The Sakura Murders? The ones left unsolved, right?" Ken said, causing all eyes to rest on him. He shrugged. "I did my homework." He simply said. 

"Quite right, Siberian. And this killer seem to have a pattern of some sort." 

"Wait, you mentioned earlier he or she...You think a woman is capable of these killings, Manx-san? I've heard about the crime scenes and it sounds...I don't really think a woman would be able to do this." Nagi commented. 

"Never underestimate a woman, Nagikins." Schuldich said. 

"A woman has a complicated frame of mind, she's able to do what we think she's incapable of doing." Reasoned Omi. Schuldich raised an eyebrow at the statement by the young assassin. 

"And you would know this how, Schwarz?" 

"To delve into the mind of a woman would be to come out with a headache." Omi said simply. Schuldich froze. 

"You're a telepath too?" He asked incredulously. Oops. Apparently, Manx and Birman had forgotten to tell Weiss and Schwarz a couple of things. 

"What do you mean 'too'?" Omi asked. 

"There are a few things we forgot to mention. Omi is a telepath, like you Schuldich." Said persons looked at each other. "And Ken is a telekinetic, as is Nagi." 

"And Crawford is an Oracle while Farfarello...well, he can't feel pain." 

"Excuse me?" Youji raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean he can't feel pain?" 

"Like this." Ken said and he took a scissor that was left on a table nearby and tossed it at Farfarello. Never one to decline on offers such as this, Farf took the scissors and began poking his fingers. It drew out blood, but the Irishman doesn't even flinch. 

"What the-" 

"He can bleed, but he can't feel the pain of the wound." Explained Ken. 

"Gott." Muttered Schuldich. 

"So what can you do?" Omi asked, directing his question at Youji and Ran. "What abilities do you have?" 

"None." Replied Ran. 

"We're the only normal ones here. The better assassins, since we don't have powers." Youji said with a grin. 

"Just because we have powers it doesn't mean we use them all the time." Ken stated. 

"Ken-kun doesn't use his telekinetic powers during missions." Omi said. "He believes in the power of brute force, ne Ken-kun?" 

"Why bother to smash them against the wall when you can render them unconscious with one punch?" Ken said simply. This drew a chuckle from Omi and Farfarello both and even Birman and Manx were smiling. They've heard of the infamous Siberian temper. Mess with Ken and he'll break your jaw. Mess with people he cares about and you'll end up six feet under. 

"Back to the mission please?" Manx said after she had a glimpse of the reaction from Weiss. Which consisted of a stunned Youji, an expressionless Nagi, an amused Schuldich and Ran, who had developed a twitch in his right eye, as Crawford had done earlier. 

"First victim is a nineteen year old female, Amano Yumi. Found strangled in her home." The video paused on the crime scene. The victim was laid out on the floor of the room, presumably her own, once azure eyes that were filled with laughter was reduced to blank cold eyes with no expression, no life. Her mouth was slightly opened, as if frozen in mid-scream. Her dark brown hair fell beside her, as if encasing the horrific picture. 

"The second victim is a nineteen year old male, Kaiso Ryuichi. Found hanging outside his bedroom window." The next was a video of yet another victim with dark brown hair. The color of his eyes can't be seen considering his eyes were shut, bangs covering them partially as his head hung limply. A noose was tied tightly around his neck as his lifeless body swayed with the slight breeze. 

"Third victim is an eighteen year old female, Tsukino Kiku. Shot in the back of the head, execution style. Found in her friend's house." The next images were of the grisly murder. From the splattered blood on the once whitewashed walls and the crumpled form of what was once a teenage girl, the victim was ordered to face the wall and was shot without mercy from behind. Yet another brunette and again the color of her eyes azure, as if staring at the assassin team with her lifeless eyes, tearstains on pale cheeks. 

Manx paused, grimacing at the upcoming images. "The fourth victim was found just two days ago. Nineteen year old male, Satoru Kou, found in his apartment by a friend. They would have found him sooner if the victim hadn't planned on going away for the weekend." The next image made the room fall silent, faint breathing was heard and Omi slowly looked away. The image was enough for him to be sick. Severed limbs, splatters of blood all over the room and what was left of the body, placed neatly on a chair for a show. Ken grimaced and looked away as well. 

"Lastly..." 

"Found anything yet Nagi?" Ran asked. Said boy nodded. 

"I did what you told me to, following on the 'Rozenkreuz' that Hidaka-san mentioned earlier." Nagi said. "Ran-san..." Hearing the boy's voice all four older members walked over to where Nagi was researching on his laptop. Peering over from the boy's shoulder Youji read the data aloud for his team members. 

"The owner of Rozenkreuz failed to comment on the fire, but former workers commented that there is a possibility of arson. Rumors of illegal testing were dismissed by Estet spokesperson. The source of the fire of Rozenkreuz remains a mystery, as police can conclude nothing from clues left. 4 people are still missing, presumed dead." Youji paused. "Rozenkreuz is a...an orphanage?" 

"Apparently so. I also found data on Hidaka and Tsukiyono. They're orphans. They took in Crawford couple of years after that, his powers were developed fully by the time. Farfarello was there only for a time, but he got out. Get this though, he was a priest before Estet got to him." 

"Are you telling me the mad Irishman was a priest? And that Tsukiyono and Hidaka were both orphans in Rozenkreuz?" Youji asked. 

"That's not all. The rumors of illegal testing, they're actually true." Nagi paused, clicking on a link which displayed the full lengths of the testing. "There are old documents that Kritiker obtained when they first signed them up as Schwarz." 

"Hidaka Ken. Parents deceased, taken care of by Estet. These people killed his parents?" Youji paused. "Testing started at age 5. Full powers obtained by age 6. Telekinetic by birth, enhanced by Estet." 

"Tsukiyono Omi, telepath by birth. Parents unknown. Testing started at age 6 and full powers obtained by age 7. " 

"So they got to Hidaka first and then got Tsukiyono?" Asked Schuldich. 

"Apparently." Muttered Nagi. "But there are other data. Apparently, they found out about Crawford's precog powers and decided to test him too. They were hiding their illegal operation under the cloak of an orphanage. No one would suspect them." 

"How about the local maniac? How did he jump from a priest to a madman?" Asked Youji. 

"It seems that he found out about the operation, so Estet decided to experiment on him. They had him for a year, but it was enough to drive him insane." Nagi gave an involuntary shiver. "Kritiker found out about the organization and arranged for its demise. Crashers took care of it. They killed off the scientists and people involved but found potential in Tsukiyono, Hidaka and Crawford. They mentioned in the report that the three are the only ones that can control Farfarello, whom they found years later in another Estet hideout." 

"Shit. And I thought my past was messed up." Youji stated, albeit bluntly. 

"Better then theirs, liebe." Agreed Schu. 

"Did you manage to get into Tsukiyono, Schuldich?" Ran finally asked. 

"He let me get as far as his whole personality, characters and all. I never got the chance to look around about his past. Defenses too high. He's a telepath after all." Schuldich pointed out, but there was a hint of amusement in his voice. Then again, Schuldich always finds an amusement in things such as this. 

"So, what's the verdict?" 

"Trust them. What other option is there?" 

"So nothing too gruesome about Weiss huh?" Ken asked from the kitchen table. Omi shook his head, seated nice and comfortably in the den with his laptop, researching on Weiss. 

"Kudo-san joined Weiss after his partner was killed, Naoe was recruited at an early age...he was a year older than you were when Kritiker took him in." Omi paused, reading the rest. "Schuldich joined because he had the abilities and apparently he worked for another assassin team at the time anyway. But Fujimiya had the worse history out of all of them." 

"Oh?" 

"His parents were killed in a rigged explosion and his sister was hit by the car of the perpetrator." Omi sounded strained when he read that info off the screen so Ken had a guess who the evildoer must be. 

"Takatori Reiji I presume?" 

"Bingo." Ken let out a dry laugh. 

"It doesn't take a genius to know that." 

"A brain is well needed for this new mission and I expect you to be using them, Hidaka." A stern voice said. Ken looked up from the tabletop and grinned at Crawford. 

"Point noted, Crawford. Omi is researching on the mission as well as Weiss' background." Ken pointed out. 

"Any developments, Omi?" Crawford asked. 

"Nothing much. Looks like we know more than the police do." He sighed. "I'm still unsure about this mission though. Why do we need a bait?" 

"To catch the killer we need a victim." Crawford replied. 

"But why Ken-kun?" Omi protested, looking at the brunette. 

"Because I can protect myself, Omi. No one needs to worry about me." Ken said reassuringly. "I have both physical strength and my telekinetic abilities. I won't let the killer do anything drastic, alright?" 

"Besides, he's the only one that fits with the description of the victims." 

"The kitten has 'potential victim' written all over him." Another voice supplied and the three in the room looked up to see Farfarello has entered the room. "Even if he doesn't, I'll be willing to write it. In red." 

Ken sweat dropped. "No thanks, Farfie." 

"But are you sure it's going to be safe, Ken-kun? I mean, the last victim..." 

"Omi, we're assassins, we risk our lives all the time. Besides, I can't just sit here and be safe when I know I can be out there, in danger but able to do something to stop these killings." 

He was burning; he felt the flames running across his skin and the soaring pain that went along with it. The agonizing torment of the fire, almost as if he was sent straight to hell. Straight into the devil's arms. He wanted to scream, to shout...to release a bit of the pain, but his mouth was sealed shut and all he could do was bear the pain. 

No one will help him. 

And still the pain seared through him, cutting at him like knives. Tears prickled his eyes and he was consumed by the pain and into the darkness. 

Ken woke with a start, shaking uncontrollably. He stared at his hands, they were untouched, but the dream was too real. No, it wasn't a dream. It was a memory. His subconscious had picked up one of old memories, one of the darkest ones. 

He stared at unmarked skin. It was almost amazing how little could be left after he was left with the dancing flames. He could have died and yet he was given a chance to live. Schwarz is his family and he fights to protect those he loves. 

Whether or not to trust Weiss...He felt something for Fujimiya, that's for sure. But after all that he went through, he doesn't trust anyone easily. Can you honestly blame him? 

To Be Continued 

It's dark, we know. Blame the writers. *points at Aki and Wai* Aki was in the early stages of catching the flu and Wai read too many deathfics in one day. Apologies about messing up "Rozenkreuz", but we need it for later. The chapter's darker this time because we had to have it this way in order to explain the mission to Weiss and Schwarz AND introduce bits of Schwarz's past. More details of the killings will come and you'll find out why they're called the 'Sakura Murders'. Sorry for the flashback, we need the Ken-torture and Omi-torture, even though there was much protest from the writers of this chapter. 

As for those waiting for the coupling to start working, you'll have to wait for future chapters. We need to establish a trust between the two teams and get their pasts straightened out before any romance can spark, ne? But there's no denying the tension between Ken and Ran anyway. 

Wai and Aki wanted to focus on Ken mainly because of a discussion they had with a couple of Weiss fans at school. The others thought that Ken had the easiest past out of the Weiss members, after all, Ran lost his parents and his sister is in a coma, Youji lost Asuka and Omi was brought up without a family and came from a messed up family. 

Wai's comments:  
It pissed me off to when I heard their opinion. First off, I think that Ken had it the WORST. He had the perfect life before it was all taken away from him. AND none of the other Weiss members were burnt. Ken took an emotional and physical blow. He lost his world. So, although I respect other people's opinions, I think that they should consider those facts first. 

Aki's comments:  
I don't really think that Ken had it the worst; I think he and Omi have it pretty bad. But I do agree that Ken got the worse deal, especially when he was left in flames...literally. 

~Solaris~

_Oh and an additional note, thanks for the reviewers of the previous chapter. We're really sorry we couldn't add humor to this chapter. But you can only read so many death fics...So, anyone willing to write a short, fluffy RanKen to lift my mood? *grins* I promise for Nagi and Omi fans as well as RanKen fans that Aki and I will get all the good stuff in next chapter. _  
_- Wai_


	3. A kiss is just a kiss

**If only a smile**  
Chapter 3 - A kiss is just a kiss  
by ~Solaris~  
Warnings: AU, OOC, shounen-ai moments and a couple of scene jumps  
Pairings: Ran+Ken, Youji+Schuldich and Nagi+Omi  
Aki's Disclaimer: Wouldn't you believe it, they give this job to the sick person! *sniffles* We don't own nothin' and wouldn't even dream of it. I'm too sick to write anything else at the moment, so if you don't believe me then tough. We're broke, stupid and sick (I am anyway), we don't want anyone suing our asses off. 

Notes:  
"Speech"   
'_Telepathy/thoughts_'  
Through Telephone/communicator 

"So Fujimiya will be covering for Hidaka?" Crawford asked, stern eyes looking at Ran. 

"Ran will take care of him, don't worry." Schu said, as he leaned against Youji. Omi resisted the urge to grin. It seemed that the German telepath of Weiss was doing wonders to Crawford's temper by testing it every which way that he could. 

The said 'victim' aka Ken was shaking his head as he surveyed the scene. It would be only Fujimiya and him. How on Earth would he be able to pull this one off? He was nervous enough as it is. But despite his tendencies to have a klutz attack at home, he never ever slips during a mission. 

'_Will you be alright Ken-kun?_' Omi asked for the umpteenth time that day. Ken grinned at the younger boy. 

'_Now who's acting like the mother hen, Omi?_' He teased, prompting the blonde to blush slightly. But the indignant glare that he placed on caused Ken to sober up slightly. '_Don't worry, chibi. I'll be on the lookout._' Ken promised. 

'_You better be, Ken-kun! You promised, remember?_' 

Ah, how could Ken forget? The vow he made a long time ago to Omi, when they were starting out as an assassin group, as Schwarz. He promised that he wouldn't die on Omi, not before he said goodbye anyway. And Omi always holds on to that promise, never failing to remind Ken about it every single mission. 

"How do we know the killer would go after Ken-kun, though?" Omi asked suddenly. "There must be a lot of guys around Ken's age with brown hair." 

"The killer has attacked in areas around here. We have a strong suspicion that he or she would strike here next." Nagi said simply. 

"But how would we know who's the killer? There are a lot of people out there and they're bound to come close to Hidaka. How do we know who's the real killer?" Youji asked. 

"That's where the telepaths come in." Crawford said, looking at Omi and then glaring at Schuldich. "You tap into other people's minds to get a clue on whether or not the killer is nearby." 

"Aa." 

"And Omi?" 

"Hai Crawford-san?" 

"When I mean other people, I do mean other people." Crawford said with a stern voice. Omi smiled sheepishly and nodded. 

"What the hell did he mean by that?" Youji asked to Ken, who happened to be standing nearby. The brunette smirked. 

"In the last mission, when Brad ordered Omi to tap into the mind of others, Omi tapped into Brad's mind." Ken explained. 

"Crawford hurt God good that day." Farfarello said, causing both Ken and Omi to snicker. 

"Most definitely. Bradley Crawford, leader of Schwarz, terrified of spiders." Ken said, chuckling. "And here I thought the only thing Brad would be afraid of some sort of blood-sucking banshee." 

"No, Ken-kun, that's what YOU'RE afraid of." Omi said, giggling. 

"Oi!" Ken said, whacking the blonde playfully on the arm. Weiss could only watch the exchange with interest. This brotherly bond between the two, after all that they've been through, it must be all they have left. 

"You know chibi, I think you're right, I do fear blood-sucking banshees." Ken said thoughtfully. "After all, we're ALL scared of Manx, ne?" 

That comment however, caused Schuldich to start howling with laughter, knowing his tendencies to annoy the redhead secretary. Youji was chuckling and Nagi had a grin on his face. Omi covered his mouth with his hands, trying to subdue an oncoming train of giggles. Even Ran was trying hard not to smile. 

"Manx is going to kill you if she finds out you called her a blood sucking banshee." Omi pointed out. 

"Aw hell, Manx tried to kill Farf when he said she looked like a drowned rat after she got caught in the rain one time, remember?" 

"It was a compliment. Rats hurt God." Came the statement from the resident psychopath. Everyone sweat dropped. 

Ken weaved through the crowd, knowing he would need to find a secluded area where he could make himself most noticeable as a target. He hated the plan but, pardon the cliché, someone's got to do it. He finally positioned himself at the entrance of a small alley, not too far from the crowd. 

"You look nervous." A voice stated. Ken nearly jumped, but luckily, he recognized the voice before he did anything drastic. Needless to say, Fujimiya Ran is a lucky man. If Ken hadn't recognized his voice in time, he would have been smashed on the wall. 

"I'm not nervous. I'm agitated. I hate waiting." Ken muttered, knowing that he merely rephrased the redhead's words and threw him a sideway glance. "What are you doing here anyway?" 

"Protecting you, remember?" 

"Not this close. You know damn well that you should keep a good distance or this trap won't work." Ken commented. Usually, he's able to see past masks pretty easily. But Ran's mask was too difficult, although not impenetrable. 

"Did you know who I was?" Ran asked, completely disregarding Ken's earlier words. Ken's eyes widened for a moment, knowing what he meant. 

"No, I didn't. Weiss and Schwarz never met, remember? Not until two days ago anyway." Ken reminded him. He looked away, letting out a bitter laugh. "I may look stupid, but I'm not. I wouldn't go up to a member of Weiss unarmed, despite the fact that he's been knocked by a soccer ball." 

Ran glared at him. "How am I supposed to know you didn't do that on purpose?" 

"Oh, sure, I asked Yuko to render the leader of Weiss unconscious by kicking a ball at him." Ken said sarcastically. "If I wanted you unconscious, I would have sent you into a tree, not have you hit on the head with a ball." 

'_Or get my assistant coach, Naoko to take you out. She might be a girl, but she can kick a hardball._' 

There was an uncomfortable pause as the two assassins glared at each other. Luckily, Crawford was positioned at the other end and Schuldich and Omi were too busy with surveying the minds of the people around the area. And lucky that Nagi was with Youji, in a car not far from where Crawford is, looking around for suspicious characters. If their teammates weren't occupied, they would have to witness this little exchange. 

"I'll be on the rooftop." Ran stated suddenly with narrowed eyes. Ken shrugged. 

"Whatever." He muttered. After Ran left, he switched on his mike, just in case the killer was around somewhere. He resisted the urge to sigh, knowing that the others would pick it up on their headphones. Damn communicators. 

Anything? Crawford's voice crackled slightly with static through the headphone. 

Nothing yet Crawford-san. All I'm getting is just random thoughts. No murderous thoughts yet. Omi said through the communicator. Schuldich-san, how about you? 

A few ecchi thoughts here and there but nothing special. The German replied. 

Now I know someone is having some fun. The amused voice of Youji came on. 

I didn't do anything, these people are naturally dirty-minded, they don't need my thoughts as well. 

Ken shook his head, smiling slightly. Weiss isn't really that bad, at least, the three members of Weiss weren't. Fujimiya is another story. 

Ken-kun, having fun? 

"Tons." Ken said, shaking his head. "No one making a pass at me yet." 

Don't worry Ken-kun! I'm sure some girls would try and flirt with you! 

"Omi, remind me to smack you later." Growled Ken. 

Pay attention! 

"We love you Bradley!" Chorused the voices of Omi and Ken, echoing on the line, drawing chuckles and snorts of laughter from the others and a growl from Crawford. 

I might like you yet, bishounen. Schuldich said to Omi. Ken could picture Omi blushing at the comment and shook his head. Strands of chocolate hair covered his vision slightly and he wanted to brush the strands away from his eyes, but found that he was unable to move. 

His eyes widened, urging his unresponsive limbs to move. He felt his breath caught and words slipped out of his mouth before he could even think. "What the hell?" He whispered. The others caught the words, however. 

Ken-kun? Daijoubu ka? 

"Kuso!" Ken hissed. "I can't move!" 

What do you mean you can't move??!! Omi shouted. 

"I said I can't move! Someone placed a block on me!" Ken exclaimed, trying desperately to stay calm. 

A block? Youji's confused voice came through the communicator. 

A psychic block. Nagi said, tone serious, a hint of worry there. He's never seen one done on anyone but he knew enough about them. Anyone who is placed under a block will not be able to move, practically a sitting target. 

Throw it off. Ordered Crawford. Ken cursed under his breath and focused all his powers together. A telekinetic block can only be thrown off if there's a counter-force to it. Finally gathering enough powers, he unleashed most of the attack. But to no avail. 

Siberian, status? 

"Negative." 

Where's Fujimiya? Asked Crawford. 

"I don't-" Ken didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, as his eyes caught a glint of silver. His eyes widened suddenly when he realized what the object was, but was too late to react. The knife sliced through the air and struck him on the shoulders. He cried out in pain and was thrown to the ground. 

KEN-KUN!!!! 

Ken bit his lip in pain, finally regaining control of his limbs. He had been struck in the left shoulder, the knife sticking deep into the flesh. He drew his shaky right hand out, in an attempt to pull out the knife, but a slender arm stopped him. 

He could barely make out the face of Ran Fujimiya. Ken didn't know whether it was the pain or because he used most of his energy to throw off the block, but for a moment he thought he saw worry and fear crossing the redhead's features. Any thoughts were pushed away as Ran carefully peered at the wound and pulled out the knife with lightning speed, causing Ken to cry out once more. 

His vision blurred and as Ran pulled him to his feet, his knees buckled and he fainted. 

When Ken woke up, it was to the loud noises that came nearby. He winced slightly at the glare of the light in the room and groaned softly at the pain in his shoulder. He could make out Crawford's voice, Manx's and Omi's. Crawford sounded pissed. No, forget that, he sounded furious, especially at the extremely loud bellow that came out just moments ago. Omi tried to calm their leader down, but Ken could decipher distress in the younger one's voice. 

"What's going on?" He murmured to himself. '_Hell, I feel like shit._' He thought to himself. Apparently, both telepaths kept their mind channels opened. 

"Ken-kun!" Omi cried out. 

"Hidaka's awake." Schuldich stated. "And off the record, he feels like shit." Ken snorted in laughter at the comment. 

'_Stay out of my head, both of you._' He warned to both Schuldich and Omi. 

"Ah, he's also protective of his mind." Schuldich said just as Omi burst into the room Ken was currently in and tackled the injured brunette. 

"Thank Kami you're alright!" Exclaimed Omi. 

"No, don't thank Kami." Muttered Ken, pointing at the doorway. Both Crawford and Farfarello had stepped inside. And Farf seemed highly interested as to why they should be thanking 'Kami'. But thanks to Manx, Farf decided to put the question on hold. 

"What the hell happened out there?" She asked, just as Weiss stepped into the room as well. 

"Well, we now know whoever the killer is, he or she is also a telekinetic." Ken said, grimacing slightly as he tries to shift position. 

"That makes this person all the more dangerous." Manx muttered darkly. "What happened Siberian? I thought you had back up out there?" 

"He did." Crawford said icily, glare directed at Ran. "But for some reason Weiss didn't seem to think the lives of one of my men important enough." 

"Crawford-san, Fujimiya-san did help Ken-kun." Omi pointed out. 

"Yes, **after** Ken was stabbed." Ken blinked, Crawford just called him by his first name and right in front of Manx and Weiss. That was a first. 

"Is this true, Abyssinian?" Manx asked the redhead leader of Weiss. 

"Hold on a second here! I'm sure Ran tried his best!" Youji protested, but one glare from Manx rendered him silent. 

"Answer the question." She ordered. 

"Manx, if anyone's to blame here, it's me." Ken spoke up. All eyes turned to the brunette, even Ran, who was looking at him with confusion. "I wasn't paying attention on this operation. I take full responsibility for my own injuries." 

"But-" 

"Manx-san, with all due respect," Ken began, his voice strained. "I am injured, I am in pain and I'm pissed off. However, I still have power leftover in me yet and if you don't want to come face to face with the wall, then please drop the subject." He paused, before adding, "And just leave, I'm sore and I really don't want to have to sic Farfie on you." 

As if the add to the note, Farfarello pulled out one of his prized knives and proceeded to poke his fingers with it. Manx gave one look at the Irishman and decided to comply. 

"Alright then." She agreed. "But I'll get one of the Kritiker med team to run tests on you to check, alright?" Both Omi and Ken tensed up to the word 'tests' and Farf seem to take this as an offense. 

"There won't be any 'tests' run on the kitty-cat." He stated dangerously. Farfarello would be one of a few people who knew why Omi and Ken would react so negatively to the word 'tests', as he had been through series of 'tests' himself. That was how he came to be. 

"I-I think what Farfie means is that Ken-kun is just fine." Omi said with a strained voice. 

"Very well. Oh and on another note," Manx began. "We've established that the killer might want to come after Ken after this. So I'm placing a watch on you." Manx said, pointing at Ken. "You will stay here under Weiss' protection until this mission is completed." 

"What?" Exclaimed Ken. 

"Why is it that you're leaving Ken-kun in their care? We can take care of him!" Omi protested. 

"No, you can't. You have school to attend to, Crawford has work and Farfarello isn't in any condition to look after Ken." Manx pointed out. "Here, we have three idle men that works in shifts so one of them can keep an eye on Ken at all times." 

"Give me a break! I don't fucking need a babysitter!" Ken shouted. 

"In YOUR current condition Siberian, you cannot argue. So sit down and be quiet while I tend to your protesting teammates, understand?" Snapped Manx. 

"Perfectly." Ken said sourly. 

"Why did you cover for me?" Ran asked. Ken snorted. It just had to be some sort of karma that Ran would take the first shift in the morning, didn't it? It couldn't be Schuldich, Youji or Nagi...No...It just had to be Ran. And of course, the first thing the redhead said to Ken were those very words. 

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't do it for you." Ken said. "I did it for Crawford." 

"Crawford?" 

"Hai. He'd blame himself for leaving me in the care of someone he doesn't trust." Seeing Ran's unconvinced face, Ken smiled slightly. "Our great leader might act as an uncaring bastard, but trust me, he cares. More than he lets on." 

"And how would you know?" 

"I can read through other people's masks. You don't need to be a telepath to be able to see through people's masks, you know." 

"So you can..." 

"See through yours? Not really, but I can make out some stuff." Ken replied, but he suddenly found the urge to knock himself out. Alright, so he **is** attracted to the redhead. But what's the use in trapping yourself into this web of heartbreak anyway? Everyone knows that Fujimiya Ran would never succumb to the enemy and Schwarz is considered to be an enemy. 

There was a pause and Ken tried to read the indescribable expression on Ran's face. Finally, he whispered, 

"Can you see through this?" And before Ken could ask what he means, he found warm lips pressed against his own. His mind finally registering the shock, he finally found the sense to react to the sudden actions and moved his lips to respond to the kiss. Almost too soon, the contact was broken. 

Each looking into the other's eyes, trying to decipher the emotions. But whatever it was that Ran saw in Ken's eyes, either he didn't like it or he didn't care to see. He stood up and left, leaving behind a confused brunette. 

"Will you take care of Ken-kun?" Omi asked, Crawford and Farfarello had left earlier but the young blonde insisted on staying. 'Matters of obtaining information', he had told Crawford. Knowing the stubborn teen, Crawford let him stay. Nagi regarded the older boy for a moment before nodding. 

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. You've gained Schuldich's trust and it seems that both Schuldich and Youji likes Hidaka-san." Nagi said. Omi smiled. 

"Aa, I've noticed." Tilting his head to the side, he asked, "How about you?" 

"N-nani?" Stuttered Nagi. 

"Do you like us? Any of us?" Omi asked. Nagi blushed a crimson hue at the question and gulped. 

"I-I don't k-know." He stammered. 

"Hontoo ni? Not even a tiny bit?" 

"A-anno, Hidaka-san seems alright. Farfarello-san, I'm unsure about, but then again he is a psycho. And Crawford-san, he-he cares for all of you, I can see..." 

"How about me?" Omi asked carefully, only prompting Nagi to blush even more. 

"I don't think I want to answer that." He muttered. 

"Iie? Why not?" Nagi's eyes widened in panic. Whatever happened to calm, collected telekinetic of Weiss? It seems that the mask dissolved away when Omi broke through his defenses. Damn it! Telepaths! 

"You probably know." Muttered Nagi. 

"I do? How's that possible? I've never even read your mind." Omi said. 

"You...you've never read my mind?" Omi shook his head. 

"No, I only read when I'm on a mission or when I want to piss off Crawford." Omi said, shrugging. 

"So right now..." 

"I haven't a clue what you're thinking." Nagi grinned, at least he had some advantage in this. 

"Would you like to?" He asked, his calm demeanor finally back. This time, Omi blushed. 

"It's up to you." 

"Then go right ahead." Nagi said, even as he leaned forward to capture Omi's lips with his own. 

Two kisses shared. Four confused assassins. The question now is, which kiss is real? Which two will establish something between themselves and which two will falter and step back? 

To Be Continued 

I blame the Nagi-Omi scene ENTIRELY on the dose of coffee that I had. OK, maybe not entirely. It's just so bad! I know that I've got to fix it up or something. But Aki already wrote up most of the stuff last chapter and I'm pretty much idle. Less insights on Ken or Ran as well. Blame Wai for that please, she takes full responsibility. She wanted more interactions next chapter.  
- Kyoko 

The scene jumps weren't my fault! Aki was suppose to write this with me, but since she dropped out because of her 'disease' (It's not the flu, it's taking too long for her to get better!) Looks as though I'm catching it too. Ick. Plotline is my fault though, so if you don't like the plot...Just shoot me. Kyo-nee-chan usually chips in with thinking of the main theme, I write the plot and Aki and I both write the stuff up. Kyo-nee-chan was just helping us out. So, forgive the lack of...whatever...in this chapter.  
- Wai 

Last note: This was written when Aki was still sick and we really didn't want to re-write it. We just hope that this chapter is OK. 

~Solaris~ 


	4. What becomes of the brokenhearted?

**If only a smile**  
Chapter 4 - What becomes of the brokenhearted? 

  
Genre: Angst (Ken Angst!), Drama, eventual Romance  
Warning: AU, OOC and...*gasp* Original character! No, it's not a self-insert and we didn't base her on anyone. We need the character for plot development purposes and we're not letting her go!   
Pairing: Ran+Ken (We'll get them together eventually), Schu+Youji, Omi+Nagi  
Spoiler: This doesn't follow the anime or manga plotline, so it's pretty much safe.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far. We updated early just because...actually, Aki and Wai wanted this part out. Aki missed writing and she and Wai both love to write angst. Wait till you see what they have planned for future chapters. 

_Kittykat AoiMizu _- Um...no, we really didn't plan any Brad/Farf here. But who knows, our muses (Yes, we each have a muse. Aki's muse is in the form of a chibi Youji, Wai's in the form of chibi Hisoka- she's got two muse but she loves Hisoka more and Ryoko's is in the form of a chibi Aoshi.) might think of something for them. We'll see...

_siberian _- Hehehe...that's how Ryoko and Wai react when they read any RanKen.

_Karosai_ - Wai wai! (Wai-chan: Hey! Don't use my nickname!) Thank you very much! 

_Tschubi-chan _- (This note is written by Aki and Wai) *hug* Thank you very much for your review! And we did mention updating early...so when's the new chapter for 'Wild Hunt' coming? Wai's been moody about that. Aki wants to see more YouKen in 'Eternal Return' but Wai's strongly against that. (Ryoko: Same here! RanKen forever!!!)

Disclaimer: Weiss Kreuz belong to Koyasu Takehito, Project Weiss etc. The character Naoko exists only in the twisted imagination of Aki and Wai. 

His vision was clouded by a bright red light, swirling colors of red that shifts into a darker and lighter hue. Almost like a flickering flame. Wait a minute...flame? 

His eyes widened as he saw the fire all around him. Instinctively, his whole body froze. This looked far too similar. With blind panic, he looked around him. The dancing flames, the deep crimson that looked too much like blood, surrounded him and he could feel the burning heat. He gritted his teeth, looking at the beckoning flames. Calling out to him. 

He was hyperventilating, it was as if the flames were closing in, swirling and swirling closer in an endless cycle. In his moment of panic, a face appeared from the other side of the flames. He squinted his eyes until the face came to focus. 

Eyes lighting up with renewed hope, he waved his hand about. He was going to be saved! But the smile on his face faded when the face smiled back with malice. 

"You're going to die, my friend." The owner of the face said. 

"N-nani?" He whispered softly. No...he couldn't! He came to save him! What was he doing???!!! 

"Goodnight, sleep tight. Don't let the beasts bite." 

"IIE!" He shouted with all his might, just as the flames flared and engulfed him. The pain was excruciating. Riding from his legs up, licking his skin. He was slowly burning, plunged into eternal damnation. This was his punishment. 

His punishment...for being born. 

He sat up from the bed, stomach churning with nausea at the sudden change of equilibrium. He placed a hand on the wall to steady himself, breathing in deep gulps of air. Body still shaking, panicked eyes regarded his surroundings. The unfamiliar surrounding. 

When reality finally kicked in, so did familiarity. He knew where he was, in Weiss grounds. He went down on the battlefield and he now was under the full protection of Weiss. Events a few hours ago flooded into his head. Quietly, as he always does, he sobbed. 

"Leave me alone." He whispered softly. "You've already killed my soul! Must you take my heart too?" 

Hidaka Ken cried himself to sleep that night. He was the cursed one, forever haunted with the memories of the past. He was to blame for his parents' death, they were killed because the organization wanted to get to him. He was also to blame for his own pain, for the horrible fate he was handed when he was left to die in the burning of Rozenkreuz. But he didn't die, instead, he would be surrounded by the deaths of others. Have blood on his hands, the cruel path that fate has chosen for him. His life already written from the day of his birth. 

He woke up for the...Kami knows how many times he woke up. His body drenched with sweat, twisting from this position to that. He simply couldn't sleep. When he was about to give up and try and stay awake the whole night, the door creaked open and Nagi's head appeared from the doorway. 

"Hidaka-san?" He asked carefully. 

"Aa? What is it, Nagi?" Ken asked warily. 

"I wanted to check up on you." Nagi said, frowning. "I...felt the disturbance." He confessed. "You're having nightmares, aren't you?" 

Ken blushed, praying thanks that the room was dark so the other telekinetic couldn't see the growing blush staining his cheeks. "Um...yes. But it's nothing really, I have them all the time." Ken said softly. 

"All the time?" Nagi asked incredulously. He didn't know why he was there, but for some reason, he felt a connection with Ken. Almost as if a kindred spirit of some sort, probably because they were both telekinetic. 

"Saa, they actually come at specific times. Always when I need sleep most." Ken said, a bitter laugh escaping his mouth. 

"D-do you want to talk about it?" Nagi asked uncertainly. Ken looked at the younger boy, who sat down at the foot of his bed. 

"Why do you want to? Why do you care?" Ken asked, voice soft. No one cared, no one ever bothered with him. Except maybe Schwarz. Although Crawford can be such a cold bastard, he was the one who taught Ken how to be wary of his surrounding. To expect the unexpected, never trust anyone easily. Sometimes, even, when Ken has a particularly bad night, Farf would stroll into his room, knives at hand. The Irishman would sit in a chair at one corner of Ken's room and play with his knives. But the presence of the Irishman in the room was enough for Ken to fall to a dreamless sleep. And there really weren't any explanations for Omi. The younger male simply was. A compassionate and caring friend, always loyal and always there. 

"I had nightmares too, you know, when I first joined Weiss." Nagi said. "I was abandoned when I was a kid and Kritiker took me in, fed me and clothed me and gave me an identity, as well as something I believed in. They trained me and taught me how to use my powers. But training was so different from the real thing." He paused, looking at the distance, as if the scene was unfolding right in front of his eyes. "I finally killed someone, in my first mission. I-I couldn't sleep that night, tossing and turning, every time I closed my eyes I could see the face of the person I killed." 

"What happened?" 

Nagi smiled. "Schuldich happened. He sauntered into my room, declaring something about my dreams being too loud for him to sleep and asked me what I dreamt. He asked me what I feared and told me to get over it, because what we do is to save other people's lives by punishing the guilty." 

"He gave you something to hold on to." Ken said carefully. Nagi nodded. 

"Hai. That's why I respect Schu, despite his perverted comments and annoying attitude at times." Ken smiled at Nagi's words. 

"I have the same respect for my teammates too. They're my family, the only ones who were there since the beginning." Ken said with a sigh. "The beginning of everything, of the suffering that became my nightmares." 

"Are you dreaming of Rozenkreuz?" 

"............" 

"Ken-kun?" The brunette blinked at the nickname, but then smiled. Although Nagi had a cold front that he put up, an indifferent air that wasn't as icy as Ran's or as arrogant as Crawford's, but was simply Nagi's own, the boy was willing to pull back his mask. 

"Hai, I was." 

"Will you tell me? Let me understand at least?" 

"Why would you want to?" Ken asked carefully. He needed to know whether Nagi's intentions were genuine or not. "You are Weiss and I am Schwarz. Why would white come near black? Black would only taint your soul." 

"Not if your soul is already black." Nagi shot back. "And besides, your soul isn't black, Ken-kun. Though it's not white either." 

"Do you really want to know?" Nagi nodded. "Then sit back and relax, this is going to be a long ride." 

"Ken-kun...you went through all that?" Nagi asked, voice barely a whisper. 

"Yup. Better than the plot for a soap opera, huh?" Ken asked, trying to cheer things up a little. 

"We read your files...but I'd never imagined..." 

"That they poked and prod me? That they'd inject me with some shit that made me feel nauseated for the whole day? That at one point my heart actually stopped beating? That I was dead for 5 minutes before being revived again?" Ken stopped, a sardonic smile on his face. "Life's a bitch, ain't it?" 

"How could they?" 

Ken sighed. "Ask that to any of the targets, Nagi. What would they answer? If they stayed alive long enough, anyway." 

"This happened to you and Omi?" Nagi asked carefully. Ken's eyes softened at the mention of the boy who was too much like a brother to him. 

"No, Brad...err, Crawford that is, managed to keep them from doing anything to fuck Omi up. I helped a little, but my mind was too fucked up for me to actually be able to protect the chibi." 

"And you're making it up now." Observed Nagi. Ken nodded. 

"I couldn't protect him before, he saw all the shit because his father couldn't protect him. He needed someone to look up to and Crawford and Farfarello were definitely out of the picture. I wouldn't want Omi to turn into some cold bastard or some psycho...so I had to be strong, for Omi." 

"It's easier that way, isn't it? If you have a purpose, so you can do it for someone else and pretend you're not doing it for yourself." 

"Excellent observation." Ken smiled. "You know, Nagi, if I didn't know you were a telekinetic, I'd have thought you're a telepath." Ken teased, winking. 

"I-it's nothing really." There was an uncomfortable pause as Nagi looked at the floor. Ken, however, looked at the telekinetic of Weiss with an intense gaze. 

"Nagi, you like Omi don't you?" Red alert. And I do mean red, Nagi turned a deep shade of crimson, a darker shade than even Ran's hair. Ken grinned. "I thought so!" 

"Gomen ne...I really didn't mean to-" Ken cut him off. 

"This is great!" 

"Huh? Nani?" 

"Look, Omi could use someone who's in the same wavelength as him. You're near Omi's age, right? You're perfect for him. Besides, it seems like Omi likes you too, am I right?" Nagi ducked his head and threw the cover of his futon above his head, causing Ken to snicker. 

"Mou! Leave me alone!" 

"Hah! No way, Nagi-chan." 

"NAGI-CHAN?" The younger telekinetic sat up, eyes wide at the nickname. Ken laughed louder. 

"Oh man, you're even worse than Omi!" He exclaimed. And that, was the beginning of the brotherly friendship between Ken and Nagi. 

When Ken woke up the next day, his tense muscles were relaxed and he could move his shoulder easily. After spending the whole of the previous day in bed because it had been "direct orders from Manx", much to his own discontent due to the nightmares he had every time he fell asleep, he was glad something good came out of the horrible day. His head was finally clear and he smiled slightly as he looked out the window. He was glad for Nagi's company. 

Nagi had insisted that he spend the night in the same room as Ken, just in case anything happened, the youngest of Weiss reasoned. Ran had frowned upon the 'request' but didn't object. Schuldich seem to trust Ken and Youji liked the little Siberian, so even if Ran protested, he would be outvoted. Thanks to Nagi, Ken slept dreamlessly. Although he did wake up once in the middle of the night, thinking about Ran. The redhead had avoided him, covering for Youji's shift at the flower shop as the playboy kept Ken company. 

The door opened and Ran walked into the room. Ken promptly blushed at the arrival of the stoic leader of Weiss, but then frowned at the look on Ran's face. Suddenly, he felt that unsettling feeling at the pit of his stomach. The same one he felt just before he was struck two days ago as well as in most missions, just before anyone got hurt. 

"Ohayo, Fujimiya-san." Ken said quietly, knowing that Ran wouldn't be too pleased if Ken called him by his real name. There was something in the redhead's eyes that left a pang in Ken's heart. Almost as if...he would be rejected. 

"Forget what happened that night." That was all he said, not even a 'Ohayo Ken, how are you today?' Ken's eyes widened for a moment, looking at him with disbelief. How could anyone kiss someone one day and then tell them to forget about it the next day...OK, the day after that...but still! What the hell was he trying to pull? 

"What did you say?" Ken asked, trying to keep his voice from breaking. Ran made a small noise of discontent. 

"You heard me, forget all about it." He snapped. From the way his blood was boiling, Ran would regret that he ever toyed with Ken's temper. A pissed off Hidaka Ken was a natural hazard, a highly dangerous one at that. 

"You fucking bastard." Spat Ken, jade eyes resorting to a darker hue. "Who gave you the right to toy with me?" He demanded. 

Ran scoffed, possibly adding salt to the open wound. "Get over yourself, Hidaka." He said sharply. Suddenly, all of Ken's anger deflated. Just like that, the anger was replaced by indescribable hurt. Wasn't it enough that he was once betrayed? Why must history repeat itself? 

Ken didn't say a word, instead his gaze dropped down to the floor. He murmured something under his breath, which caused Ran to look at the brunette with slight concern. But the prideful redhead swallowed it all down and ignored it, walking out of the room instead. 

When he was finally sure that no one could see, the tears finally came, falling silently from jade orbs. He let out a small, bitter laugh. Yes, history repeats itself. 

"Do you think Ken-kun is alright, Crawford?" Omi asked the older man. Crawford kept his eyes fixed on the road, but nodded his head. 

"He's a fast healer, Omi. I'm sure he would heal soon, although Manx still insists on getting Weiss to watch after him." 

"I still don't see why she insists Weiss should guard Ken-kun." Huffed Omi. It really was because he missed Ken's company. After all, the apartment wasn't the same without Ken's presence. Neither Crawford nor Farfarello can be relied on as someone to talk to. 

"I have a feeling that Ken might have to stay a little longer there." Crawford said quietly. 

"Premonition?" Omi asked. 

"I'm not sure yet." 

"Oh." Omi looked out the car window. Something must be wrong. No, something was definitely wrong. The feeling he had when Ken had to pose as the victim was still there. It had been the main reason why he was worried when they agreed Ken should act as a victim. 

It was as if, the killer _knew_ Ken would be there. And knowing that the killer had psychic power, judged by his or her ability to place a psychic block, they really had no idea what this killer's capabilities were. Maybe the killer is a telekinetic and a telepath. If that's the case, then Ken's life is in great danger. 

The sound of Crawford slamming the car door startled Omi out of his thoughts. Trust the Schwarz leader not to tell him they've reached their destination before he gets out of the car. He resisted the urge to stick out his tongue, but he knew that Crawford wouldn't exactly be happy if he did that. 

Crawford strolled into the shop, earning a grin from Schuldich and a raised eyebrow from Youji. Omi bowed politely to both men, rewarded instead by an appreciative smile from Youji and a wink from Schuldich. Omi blushed slightly at the reaction, but smiled anyway. He rather liked Schuldich, despite his dirty mind and-- sometimes--crude nature, the German can actually be quite amusing. 

"Konnichi wa, Schuldich-san, Youji-san." Omi said. 

"You can go upstairs, bishounen. Our stick-up-his-ass leader's up there right now." Youji said. Omi blushed at the nickname but beamed and bounded upstairs. He peeked through the doorway, a happy smile on his face. 

"Ken-kun?" His smile quickly faded as he stepped into the empty room. "Nani?" He looked around the small room, but there was no place Ken could possibly hide. Was he in the bathroom? Omi walked out of the room and into the hallway, just as the bathroom door opened. To reveal Ran. 

"Anno, Fujimiya-san, do you know where Ken-kun is?" Omi asked. Ran frowned and then slipped past the younger blonde to head into the room where Ken stayed. His eyes widened when he saw the empty bed. 

"He's not here." Ran stated, though there was a flicker of panic in violet eyes. Omi wasted no time. 

'_Crawford! Ken's gone!_' He called out telepathically to the American. In the shop, the leader of Schwarz's eyes widened. 

'_What do you mean he's gone?_' Demanded Crawford. 

'_He's not in his room?_' Schuldich joined the conversation, having picked up the conversation through his telepathic abilities. 

'_Iie, Fujimiya-san doesn't know where he is._' Crawford was growling silently when he heard this. Fujimiya yet again. First, he didn't watch Ken properly and got him hurt and now, he let him out of his sight yet again and Ken disappeared. 

Ran and Omi stepped into the shop, Omi looking flustered and Ran kept his cold mask, although Schuldich's eyes could see that there was a definite strain in their emotionless leader's eyes. Maybe there really was something more than meets the eye with Ken. 

"Any idea where he'd go?" Youji asked. Omi ran his fingers through his hair in a nervous gesture. 

"I don't know. Ken-kun usually goes off somewhere during the week doing various things. He could be in the park, in the stadium...by the harbor..." Omi's voice trailed off. 

"The park." Ran said quietly. All eyes were focused on the stoic redhead. "It's Thursday isn't it? He's got soccer practice." All eyes widened. 

"And you know this how?" Youji asked. 

"We've met before." Ran said. "Before we knew that he's from Schwarz and I'm from Weiss. I was at the park and I saw him coach." 

"Aa, Ken-kun does coach a group of kids soccer." Omi said, nodding his head. "But he should be resting! What is he thinking? He's a target!" 

"Lets not waste any more time." Crawford said just as he headed out the door. Omi sighed as he followed. 

'_I wish that he'd at least TELL me when he goes off._' He thought. 

"Great job Kyosuke!" Ken shouted, clapping his hands as he cheered his kids on. A beautiful raven-haired girl stood beside him, shouting encouragements at the team along with the brunette. Her amethyst eyes sparkled with excitement as one of the boys scored a goal. 

"Yeah! Go Sei!" She shouted, clapping excitedly, then tugging at the blue cap that Ken had placed on her head minutes before. "They're really improving, aren't they, Ken-kun?" She said to the brunette. Ken nodded, whistling loudly. 

"Thanks to our resident assistant coach." He said, winking. The girl blushed and waved her hand. 

"Ken-kun! Don't tease me!" She exclaimed, pouting. Ken laughed at her reaction, feeling absolutely relaxed every time he's near the shorter girl. At the age of 18, Naoko was at the top of her class and had volunteered to help Ken coach the kids. She was a soccer fanatic like Ken and often the two would swap stories and their opinions on the latest matches. Naoko shared Ken's enthusiasm for both the kids and the sport. 

"Ne, Ken-kun?" 

"Hmm?" 

"You look a little tired." Commented Naoko. "Daijoubu ka?" 

"Daijoubu, Nao-chan." He said, ruffling her hair slightly. She beamed at the nickname, though there was still a trace of the blush on her cheeks. 

"KEN-KUN!" A voice shouted, Ken looked up and groaned. 

"Busted. Damn." He muttered. 

"Nani?" Naoko said, just as she peered over her shoulder to see the newcomers. She noticed Ran first, having seen him before. "Your friends?" 

"Hai." Ken sighed dejectedly. "I don't know how they found me, though." 

"It could be the redhead, Ken-kun. He's been here before, hasn't he?" Naoko asked. 

"That's true. But I thought he wouldn't care less. Well, unless Crawford threatened him of course. Darn it." 

"In trouble?" Naoko grinned impishly. Ken gave her a look. 

"Don't get me started, Nao-chan." But he couldn't even scold her, Omi had reached them by this time. 

"Ken-kun, what are you doing out of bed? You should be resting, not running around!" The usually genki teenager exclaimed, worry etched in his features. Ken felt slightly guilty to see his best friend so frazzled. After all, it really wasn't Omi's fault. Omi didn't know what Ken's reason for taking off. 

He wanted a breath of fresh air. Anything to get away from Fujimiya. But instead, he pasted on his foolproof mask and grinned at Omi. "Maa, maa, gomen ne chibi." Ken said lightly. 

"Ken-kun, you're ill?" Naoko asked in alarm. 

"It's nothing, Nao-chan." Ken said reassuringly. There was an exchange of looks from the group and Ken had noticed too late that Schuldich and Youji were there too. Youji had tried to get some information out of Ken, mainly about his preferences. No such luck for the older blonde though. 

"Mind introducing your little friend to us?" Youji asked, his tone teasing. Ken rolled his eyes. 

"Naoko-chan, these are friends of mine, Omi, Youji, Schuldich, Crawford and Ran." Ken said, naming them off one by one quickly. "Minna, this is Aoi Naoko." 

"Hajimemashite." Naoko said, bowing politely. There was an exchange in sniggers from the two sociable Weiss members, but was quickly hidden after Ken sent a death glare their way. Although Ken might not be an expert in death glares, when Kenken glares, woe befalls those who piss him off. 

"Nice to meet you, Aoi-san. Although I'm afraid we have to leave, we have to get Ken-kun back." Omi said apologetically. Ken gave him a look, but didn't say anything. What a perfect way to end a perfect day. 

Ah, sarcasm. It's the way of life. 

"What the hell was he thinking?" Muttered Crawford as he drove the car. He was stuck with three Weiss members while Omi rode with Ken on the brunette's motorcycle. The day Ken was injured, his teammates were forced to bring his bike to the Weiss home because they knew the brunette couldn't part with his prized possession. 

When they finally arrived, Crawford stepped out of the car and stalked over to where Ken and Omi were, getting off the bike themselves. "I want a full explanation to this stunt you pulled, Hidaka and I want it now." He snapped. 

"Easy does it, Brad. Remember your blood pressure." Ken said lightly, smiling at the older man. 

"Schwarz cannot afford to lose a member with such an important case in line. Do you understand that?" Crawford demanded. Ken's eyes darkened at his words. 

"Of course I understand. Schwarz and Kritiker can't afford to lose a prized **assassin**." He said calmly, but it was a calm before the storm. And seconds later, the storm was unleashed. "Do you think I fucking care?" He exploded, jade eyes stormy. 

"I'd thank Kami if someone actually comes and kill me, at least it beats hanging around here, getting my mind fucked up." He shouted. "I'm tired of all this! I don't fucking have a past, Brad, I don't have anything to turn back to. You all have something left, I don't fucking have ANYTHING! I'm stuck in this endless cycle forever." 

"Ken-kun," Omi said hesitantly, trying to calm his friend down. 

"I'm a person, damn it! I'm not just a telekinetic! I'm not just a codename! I'm not just another of Kritiker's assassins! I can't live behind a mask for the rest of my life! I can feel! I'M NOT A FUCKING TEST SUBJECT!" The brunette's tirade ended there, his breathing haggard, his body shaking. He looked down, bangs shielding his eyes. Without even a moment's hesitation, Omi threw his arms around the older male. 

"You're not a test subject, Ken-kun!" The blonde exclaimed. "You're Ken, you're my friend! You're a part of Schwarz!" Blue eyes looked at Crawford. Even the usually uncaring American had a flicker of emotion in his eyes. After 12 long years, Ken finally broke down. 

"We're not in Rozenkreuz anymore, Ken-kun." Omi said soothingly. The brunette shook his head, bangs shielding his eyes. 

"No, we're not. But it follows me everywhere Omi." He whispered. The three members of Weiss could only watch with mixed horror and fascination at the unfolding events. Slowly, Ken looked up, revealing for once unmasked eyes. The pure intensity of the anguish seen in the brunette's eyes was enough to send even Omi stumbling backwards. "You weren't consumed by the flames, Omi. You weren't left there to die." 

"We came back for you, Ken." Crawford said finally, after a long pause. "**We** didn't leave you behind." 

"Not then, not now and not ever." Omi broke in, nodding with determination. 

Ken shook his head, letting out a bitter laugh. "Don't make promises you can't keep, I taught you that, Omi. Don't forget." 

The next morning 

"Anno, Fuji...Ran-san?" Omi said quietly. Ran was sitting on the couch of the living room, leaving Youji to watch over Ken and Schuldich and Nagi in the shop. Crawford was in the shop too, on the phone with someone. 

"Hn?" 

"What did you say to Ken-kun?" 

"What makes you think I said something to him?" The reaction was too quick for Omi's liking. 

"Ken-kun doesn't react like this unprovoked. I know him too well." Omi said, looking at Ran not with accusing eyes as Crawford had done. It was more of understanding. "Will you tell me? For Ken's sake?" 

"It's personal." 

"Are you getting back at me for what happened between Nagi and I?" Omi asked carefully. Ran glared at the younger boy. Yes, he knew too well what had happened between Omi and Nagi. He had heard them talk the day after they shared their kiss. 

Apparently, there was mutual attraction between the two young assassins. And both wanted to find out more about where this could lead them. It was all Ran could do, he had found the temptation to get his katana and practice it on the young Schwarz member almost irresistible. But for some reason, he didn't do it. 

What scared him about it was that, he didn't do it not because he was worried about what Kritiker or Schwarz would think. He didn't do it because he thought _Ken_ wouldn't be happy about it. 

"Well, we can do it the easy way or the hard way, Ran-san. It's up to you." Omi said with a shrug. 

"Damn you Schwarz." Hissed Ran. Omi's eyes hardened. 

"Yes, I am a Schwarz member. Yes, I am of a rival team. But right at this moment, my BEST FRIEND is in pain because of you, asshole! So are you going to talk or do I have to use my powers on you?" Ran was taken back by the venom in the words from the usually genki assassin. 

Grudgingly, he finally said, "What do you want to know?" 

So, will Ran tell Omi the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so Farfie'll hurt God? Oops! Sorry, wrong line. ^_^ 

Omi hears what happened between Ran and Ken. Weiss, Ran especially, learns a pissed of Omi is not a good thing. Ken slips out again and in his aimless wandering, he was captured. How to find a missing Siberian? 

Next time in Chapter 5 - Into the darkness 

Review please! 


	5. Into the darkness

**If only a smile**  
Chapter 5 - Into the darkness  
By ~Solaris~  
Genre: Angst, Drama, Action and eventual Romance  
Warning: AU, OOC, slight bastardizing of Ran, Omi-torture, slight sap (OmiNagi, not RANKEN).

Note: Very short chapter. Uh...don't kill?

Standard Disclaimer applies

"I want to know what you said to Ken to get him so upset." Omi said simply. Ran frowned, knowing that what he had to say would probably piss Omi off. Luckily, Omi didn't have any telekinetic power. So any thoughts of sending Ran out the window using telekinetic powers was out of the picture. 

"I made a mistake and I told him to forget about it."

"A mistake?" Omi frowned. "You mean in the mission?"

"No."

"Then what do you mean?" Ran hesitated. "Fujimiya-san, you're wearing my patience thin." Omi said in an exasperated voice. 

"I kissed him." 

"You WHAT????" 

"I kissed him alright! It was a mistake, so I told him to forget about it." Hissed Ran, hoping that Omi would keep his voice down. No hope for that, the Schwarz telepath was fuming.

'_A mistake? Is he absolutely **insane**? I could sense the attraction between them without using my powers! And he told Ken-kun it was a mistake? To forget about it?_' Omi thought, jaw hanging open. He never thought anyone could be so damn cold and incredibly stupid at the same time. Was it because he was callous or because he simply was blind? 

"You bastard! Do you have any idea what you've **done** to Ken-kun?" Omi asked, eyes blazing. "You could have killed him! He doesn't need to be betrayed again!" 

'_Never, never again...not after Rozenkreuz._' Thought Omi.

"What? What the hell are you talking about?" 

Omi sneered, which was quite a sight, coming from the blonde. "You have no clue because you don't know shit about us, Fujimiya-san. you have no idea what we went through in the hell that was Rozenkreuz. You don't know what **Ken** went through there. You don't know the betrayal he felt. YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING WORTH CRAP!" The last sentence was shouted loudly, causing Ran to widen his eyes. 

"Urusai!" He hissed. "You want the others to hear?"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!" And sure enough, the other burst through the door, except for Youji, who was still upstairs. They had heard Omi's shrill voice the first time and figured something was wrong. They were right. 

"What's going on, Tsukiyono?" Demanded Crawford. 

"Ask **this** asshole." Omi stated, pointing at Ran. Schuldich sighed and shook his head. 

"Bishounen, we already know Ran's a dickhead, so what else is new?" Schuldich asked lazily. 

"You don't know what he's done. What he's done to Ken." Omi was trying to keep his temper in check. It was all he could do from throwing a block at Ran and leaving him there. Crawford's eyes turned cold and he glared at Ran. 

"I would like an explanation for this, please." Crawford said. But when it became obvious Ran wasn't about to say anything, he looked at Omi instead. The boy was shaking with anger. Tears glazed his eyes. "Omi, report." 

"He kissed Ken." 

"NANI???" 

"And he told Ken to forget about it afterwards." Omi added, earning a death glare from Ran, which Omi disregarded completely. Instead, he began to stalk outside. He couldn't handle anything right about now. He'd let Crawford handle it for now. 

As he sat on the steps, in the alley next to the Koneko, he drew a shaky breath. All this was reminding him of his own experience with his father. Deep betrayal, from his own father. The father that would not come for him, that would not rescue him when Estet took him and did tests on him. He shivered. 

But despite that, he came off easy. He wasn't like Farfarello or Ken. Farf had turned insane because of the torture under Estet's hands and Ken...Ken was a shell. He only opened up to some people, for others he puts on a facade and hope it would be enough. But everyone thought Ken's facade was genuine so never really bothered asking Ken whether or not he was really smiling or crying inside. No one can tell. 

He hugged his knees to his chest. None of them wanted to be reminded of Rozenkreuz and indirectly, this incident had reminded Omi of those days. The days of not knowing what would happen. Whether or not he would still be alive. And then the days of Kritiker, the hard training they endured and finding out about the truth. That his father didn't care about him.

A mistake.

He was a mistake in his father's eyes. Just as Ken had considered himself a curse. A curse and a mistake, they went along with each other. Held on to each other's presence to keep the other sane. Whatever it took for them to pull through, because they couldn't follow Brad's lead and stop feeling altogether or live in the world of the madman like Farfarello did. They were each other's lifelines, although each knew it wasn't enough.

"Daijoubu ka?" A voice asked softly. Omi looked up, seeing Nagi's concerned face looking down at him. A tear slid down the blonde's cheeks, causing Nagi's eyes to widen in alarm. "Omi! What's wrong?" Omi shook his head, unable to speak. It was as if the weight of everything over the years was finally too much for his shoulders to take. He fell, he broke down. And that he did.

He clutched on Nagi's shirt and began to sob bitterly into the younger male's shirt. Nagi panicked slightly, not knowing what to do. But on instinct, wrapped protective arms to encircle Omi and held him. He simply held him, letting the blonde cling to him, as if trying not to fall.

"It's alright." Nagi whispered softly, placing a soft kiss on Omi's head as he continued to weep. "I'm here for you."

He stood up, uncaring of anything anymore. He stepped out of the room and descended from the stairs. The shouts had carried in to his room and he suddenly felt hollow. He was a fool. Such a fool.

Without even thinking, he walked out of the door, unseen by anyone. No one would miss him. Omi was well taken care of. Nagi would take his place now. He had left his touto-chan in good hands. Surely Crawford could get Kritiker to have his position filled by someone better. And in no time, he would be forgotten, as he should be.

They would be glad that the curse was finally gone. No more headaches, no more sarcastic comments. Everyone would be happy. Except himself of course, the person who is cursed to live alone and unhappy for the rest of his life.

Eager eyes followed the brunette's form, a nasty smirk twisting what could be called as 'perfect' features. The target wouldn't even know what hit him. No, he would not be like the rest. Hidaka Ken is special, too special. He wouldn't die like the others, no, a death such as that would not suit Hidaka Ken.

The eyes followed Ken's form, moving with the shadows, as if shape-shifting so no one would be able to notice. Wait for the brunette to be distracted enough to not notice an attack, then and only then, would Ken finally be captured. What a good day it would turn out to be!

His eyes were glazed over as he looked over the field. It was as if he wasn't there and yet there he was. He was in the brink of insanity, it seemed. But it wasn't that either. He was just weary, so weary. As if life's hold on his was slowly slipping and he would succumb to the eternal damnation. 

A brief smile passed his lips. At least his torture would end. Everyone would be safe if he was gone. If he died, no one would miss him, no one would remember him. That was what they told him. He was the cause of all that was wrong, a child of demon. Possessing the evil powers...the powers to kill. 

And they enhanced them. These powers of his, just so he could be like them. But he didn't want to be! He didn't want to kill! He was only a child. He only wanted to see his parents! But they killed his parents. They killed them because of him. Because of him...always because of him.

He was slipping, the eyes saw. When the eyes saw him waver, the owner of those eyes sprang to action. The cloth was placed over Ken's mouth and nose. A muffled gasp, a half-curse was muttered, but there wasn't enough time for the brunette to struggle. He fell to the ground in a heap.

Ken Hidaka was captured.

Aki: You called **THAT** sap???

Wai: *shrugs* What did you want me to call it? Nagi's comforting Omi!

Aki: *rolls eyes*

Next chapter:  
Weiss and Schwarz find that Ken is missing. Where did he go? Omi and Schuldich use their powers to try and find the missing Schwarz member. Ken seems to know where he's held, but falls unconscious before he could tell his telepath friend through the link. Who is his captor? Will Weiss and Schwarz find him in time?

Chapter 6 - Breaking point

Please review!


	6. Breaking point

**If only a smile**

**Chapter 6 - **_Breaking Point_  
Genre: Angst, Drama, and eventual Romance.  
Warning: AU, angst-aplenty, mild Ken and Omi torture, OOC and...err...blood?  
Rating: PG-13  
Pairing: Ran+Ken, YoujixSchu, Nagi+Omi 

_Disclaimer: We definitely don't own any of these bishounen. *collective sigh*_

Note: Another short chapter. But this one isn't as short as the previous one. Many, many thanks for the reviews so far. We've been working hard on this one. Mostly because we're trying to avoid the little fix we got ourselves into with our other ongoing fic, "Strength". With this one, however, we're able to get into some serious mental torture! *insert cruel, villain laughter here* 

OK, we might as well as start this fic before anyone starts killing us, ne? 

He felt a strange tug at his chest, but the redhead pushed it away. There was no time to think about petty emotions. He was pissed off and having Schwarz running around and making his team run **their** errands was making him boil over. 

But of course, he had to keep his opinions to himself. None of his teammates were willing to listen to him at the moment. Youji seem to like Ken, apparently they had an interesting conversation while it was the playboy's turn to watch the brunette. Schu's interest for the brunette was blatantly obvious that he knew the German would just tell him to 'fuck off' or 'cool the hell down'. And Nagi...usually the calm and quiet telekinetic would be on his side...but apparently, the Schwarz brat had twisted his mind. 

Everyone was against him. 

They were looking for the missing member of Schwarz. Since it was obvious to everyone **why** the brunette took off the first time, they figured the same reason applies for this time too. Trouble was, Ken wasn't anywhere. He wasn't at the park, at the coffee shop, back in the Schwarz home... 

He simply disappeared. 

He had to admit silently to himself that he was getting worried. Despite his harsh words before, he did have feelings for the brunette. But of course, duty had always come before work. He would never let himself fall for the enemy...although Ken wasn't the enemy. He's from rival camp! 

'But you're not rivals anymore.' A quiet voice said in his head. It wasn't Schuldich's or Tsukiyono, because he'd know straight away if it were one of the two telepaths. So, whose was it? 

'Santa Claus.' He blinked. 'DUH! Your conscience, genius!' 

Great, he had a sarcastic conscience. Now what else could go wrong? It seemed that his question was answered as the door of the Koneko flew open. Youji, Schuldich and Omi all walked in. The last looking flustered. 

"Calm down, Omi." Crawford had walked in with Farfarello on tow. For once, the Irishman actually looked concerned. Probably the nearest he ever came to sanity. 

"No! I can't calm down!" The blonde shouted. "I can't feel his presence, Brad!" Omi didn't even realize he had just called Crawford by the dreaded first name. However, Crawford didn't so much as twitched when Omi said it. He had other things to worry about. 

'_I should have known he would break. I should have seen it. And prevented it._' Crawford thought quietly. 

"So it only means two things." Schuldich said, frowning. "He's unconscious or..." 

"Dead." Finished Youji. 

"That is not a possibility." Crawford said coldly. Surprisingly, Farf had an amused smile on his face. 

"The kitty cat can take care of himself. After all, all tigers were kittens once." 

"Saa, we need to find him first." Muttered Omi. 

"Try it again, Omi." Omi nodded at Crawford's...request. 

Hundreds of whispered voices flew past his head, searching and searching for the one. The one he was looking for. Almost in desperation, he cried out his friend's name. Anything to awaken the brunette, though it would be impossible if he really was unconscious...or worse. 

'_Omi?_' A small, weak question that sounded too far for comfort. 

'_Ken-kun!_' He exclaimed in joy. '_Are you all right? Where are you?_' A moan and then silence. 

'_I don't know._' The brunette replied, sounding incredulous. 

_What happened Ken-kun?_' He asked. 

'_I don't remember...I..._' His voice trailed off. But suddenly his voice came back, laced with panic. '_The shadow!_' 

'_Nani?_' 

'_He's got me Omi! I wasn't paying attention and I-_' 

'_Ken-kun, hold on! Calm down! Who's got you?_' 

'_The killer._' Omi's blood ran cold. If anything, that was the last thing he thought could happen. Apparently, they underestimated the killer. Anyone who was able to capture Ken Hidaka single-handedly had to be very powerful indeed, never mind the fact that they knew the killer had telepathic abilities. Ken was trained against telepaths. 

'_Where are you Ken-kun? Can you describe the place?_' 

'_It's...like an ordinary room, I can't say much about it. It looks old though, the walls, the paint...it's supposed to be white but it's peeling off. There's a bed, no window. I can't see anything because this place has no hole anywhere. I've tried the door but it wouldn't budge. And...for some reason, this place looks familiar._' He paused and Omi could sense fear. Alarms rang in the blonde's head. Now there were only three things he feared in the world. 

One was Rozenkreuz, two is Brad on PMS (which would never happen and he was grateful for that), but that was impossible so he's pretty much safe and the third...the day he would sense fear from Ken. Ken feared nothing. He would be wary of some things and feel threatened about others but he never **feared** anything. But what he was picking up from brunette was fear in its most raw form. Absolute terror. 

'_Omi, I think that I'm in-_' He was cut off. Omi's eyes widened, trying desperately to hold on to the link. But he couldn't sense the brunette's presence. It was either that his captor had returned or that he simply passed out. 

When the blonde's eyes opened, he was looking straight at concerned blue eyes. Nagi's. Crawford was frowning deeply, obviously waiting for the status, trying to ignore Nagi hovering over Omi. Schuldich was in one corner, apparently on his own search. Youji seated next to him, but his eyes were on Omi at the moment. Nagi looked worriedly at him and Omi could read the emotions in the depths of his eyes. 

Worry, anxiety...fear. Omi knew Nagi had already regarded Ken as an older brother of some sort, despite the fact that he'd only known Ken for a scant 3 to 4 days. But then again, Omi managed to 'hook up' with the Weiss telekinetic in just a record of what, three days? Four days? 

But what caught him by surprise was the emotions unconsciously shown in violet eyes. The same worry and fear he saw in the others. But there was something else there, something in the depths of cold eyes. Past the cold front, he saw it. Love. 

"Omi?" That brought everything crashing back down to reality. The fear factor had seized him once more. 

"Crawford-san," Omi began, seeing the American tense immediately. "I fear that I have terrible news." 

"State it now." A command, but Omi couldn't help but notice the flicker of fear. 

"Ken's been captured." 

"Nande kuso?" Shouted Youji, jumping to his feet. By doing this, he knocked Schu over and sent the German sprawling on the ground. One eye cracked open and eyes glared accusingly at Youji. 

"What was that for?" Demanded the German. 

"That's not everything." Omi said quietly. "His captor is our killer." 

"Holy shit." A blunt, to-the-point reaction from Youji yet again, as he helped Schuldich to his feet. 

"Are you absolutely certain, Omi?" Crawford asked. 

"Ken said so. And I asked him to describe where he was, but..." 

"But what?" Nagi pressed. 

"He lost consciousness." 

"Is he..." There was no reason to continue the question; they knew what he was going to ask. 

"I don't know." Omi replied quietly. 

"So beautiful." The soft whisper was as soft as a breeze, as eyes gazed longingly to the unconscious form of Hidaka Ken. It really was a shame that he had to be treated like this. But if he was up and about, there surely would be trouble abound. 

Besides, the arrival of the rest of the crew was long awaited. Especially for this anniversary. The long-awaited day. Finally, it would be time to release old secrets. Secrets kept for so long, too long. Forget that for now. Playtime will come. 

A hand reached out to brush away brown locks away from closed eyes. Lingering for a moment on the brunette's cheek. A soft sigh escaping lips as eyes looked down on the brunette. Soon... 

"So what do we know so far?" Asked Crawford. The Schwarz members were back in their shared home, it was way past midnight but none of them wanted to go to sleep. 

"He was captured some time at noon, maybe later. He said the place looked like an ordinary room and he mentioned that he knew where he was before he lost consciousness." Omi said, reviewing the clues they had. He sighed. "It doesn't tell us anything. He could be anywhere in Tokyo, no Japan, by this time." 

Crawford shook his head slowly; Omi could almost see wheels turning in the American's head. He had something, a clue they missed. Omi waited patiently for the leader to say something, but it seemed as if Crawford didn't know how to put it together just yet. 

"Rozenkreuz." Farfarello suddenly said, startling Omi slightly. He nearly forgot the other member of Schwarz. But then again, the Irishman always seems to make his presence known whenever someone forgets about him. 

"What? What do you mean Farfie?" 

"What would cause Siberian to walk away with his tails between his legs?" Omi frowned; he hated it when the Irishman spoke in puzzles. Crawford looked up slowly. 

"That's it." He said calmly. 

"What's it?" 

"Where Ken is!" 

"Huh? Darn it! Crawford, speak in Japanese!" 

"Omi, you sensed that Ken was scared, am I correct?" A nod. "And he mentioned that he seem to find his surroundings familiar, correct?" Another nod. "Now I ask you this, what is the place that Ken fears the most? The place that causes him to have nightmares every night?" 

It was then that Omi realized what Farfarello had already guessed. Rozenkreuz. 

"But the place burnt down years ago!" He exclaimed. 

"Not everything Omi." Crawford said darkly. "The orphanage might have, but I'm sure that the labs are still pretty much intact. The blaze took out the ground level but not the underground levels." 

"It still exists? Rozenkreuz still exists?" Omi's shrill voice rose. "But we saw it burn down! We saw it!" But whatever he had to say didn't matter. Rozenkreuz lives. 

~Flashback~ 

He felt his eyes sting with tears, biting his lips. He didn't want to cry. If he cried, they would only punish him. He saw it done to the other kids who started crying. He saw it. 

The man left, the syringe and needle in his hand. Blue eyes looked down at his arm, the small trickle of blood that came when the needle pressed against his skin. He got up slowly, but as soon as he got to his feet, a wave of nausea hit him. Every time, every single time they gave him the dose he would feel sick. He held back a whimper as he carefully made his way out of the room. 

Jade eyes filled with concern greeted him on the end of the long hallway, heading towards the dormitories. 

"Daijoubu ka?" The brunette asked carefully. He was a year older and had been in the place longer than Omi did himself. Two years in this cursed place. 

"Daijoubu." But despite his answer, the brunette grabbed his arm and led him carefully to his room. An overprotective brother that was what he was. Omi hid a small smile. He welcomed the warmth of his covers as the brunette helped him on the bed and waited until he snuggled into the covers. 

"You want me to stay with you?" Omi hesitated for a moment. In truth, he did. But did he say it? Of course not. 

"Iie. I'm fine, Ken-kun." He replied with a smile. The brunette looked at him with jade orbs, scrutinizing jade orbs. And without another word, he drew up a chair and sat down by Omi's bedside. Blue eyes blinked. "Nani? I said I'm fine!" 

"Sure you are." Ken said flatly as he picked up an old magazine from the floor and began to read. Sometimes, Omi wondered who was the real telepath around. Ken had the ability to know what anyone is thinking with just one look. And he wasn't even a telepath! 

He woke up to the sound of whispers. Instead of opening his eyes, however, he chose to listen. He recognized Ken's voice straight away. The other voice he couldn't recognize. Not straight away anyway. But then he knew who it was. 

Kase. 

"They're going to run tests again." He could hear Kase whispering. 

"I know. I'm the first on the list." Ken said quietly. Always Ken. Why couldn't they pick on other kids? But selfless as Ken is, he simply refused to let his fate be handed to someone else. Not an innocent, he always said. 

"Do you really think this would be the last one?" A pause. "Really? I thought it was." 

"Two more and then they're finished with us." 

"I wonder what they'll be doing next." 

"I don't." Ken said flatly. 

"Come on, Ken! Aren't you at least curious?" 

"I don't care. I don't want them to prod anymore. I'm sick of the tests, the injections and the chambers." Ken said, a waver in his voice. 

"You're such a chicken." Omi could picture the sneer on Kase's face. Damn him. 

"Call me whatever you want." Ken said quietly. "I only want to be normal again." 

He was running as fast as he could, but he had no idea where he was going. He needed to find Ken! The smoke was thickening and he was coughing. He couldn't leave there, not without Ken! He promised! Eyes darted around the place, trying to figure out where he was. But the place was unrecognizable with the smoke and the flicker of flames. 

Suddenly, he heard a shout. A man with dark hair pushed through the flames. Omi recognized him then. He had seen the older man, the foreigner, somewhere before. The lab. They took him in too, but Omi had been there once and never saw him again. But he still remembered the name of the man. 

"Crawford-san?" He asked carefully. Cool eyes regarded the young boy for a moment. 

"We need to find your friend." He stated, causing Omi to blink. How did he know? "I'm a precog." 

Ah, that would explain it. 

"Do you know where he is?" Omi asked anxiously, walking alongside the man. Crawford nodded. 

"We have to hurry though." He said, voice barely a whisper as his quickened his pace. Finally, they reached the end of the hallway, the smoke thicker here. Omi was barely able to breathe, coughing every two seconds. But Crawford didn't seem to be affected by the smoke. 

He pushed open the door and Omi took a step back at the fire that seems to reach out for them. From the flames, however, he could make out a form. His eyes widened, seeing the flames that danced around the figure. 

"KEN-KUN!" 

~End Flashback~ 

He felt a sharp pain on his right arm, causing eyes to flutter open. He felt the wetness of the blood before his mind even registered what it was that was dripping down his arm. Eyes widened, realizing that he was shackled to the wall. His eyes took in his surroundings. 

He was back. 

Fear paralyzed him, he was afraid to move, breathe or even think. It was all overwhelming. There was no way. He couldn't be back! He thought he buried this part of his past when he buried his old identity. He became a part of Schwarz in hope that no one would dig into his dark past and bring back old memories. Memories he didn't want to remember. 

Tumbling, tumbling further down. Down into the past. Down into the web of lies. Moving towards... 

Breaking point. 

OK, that's done. Hopefully no one was too bothered with the length of the last chapter. Call that one a teaser or an interlude. Ah well, it was Aki's idea anyway. Adds in to the dramatic effect. 

We'd like to stop for a moment to answer two questions from last chapter's reviews:

_Kyra _- Hehehe! You'll have to wait and see! 

_casey_ - Whoa! Breathe! Calm enough now? Well....We're not telling. *evil smirk* 

The Schwarz members returns to the place where it all started. Along with Weiss they have on clear mission. Rescue Ken. But with haunting memories and old fears resurfacing, can Schwarz live through this? The killer is revealed, with disturbing consequences. 

Next time, Chapter 7 - Nocturne 


	7. Nocturne

**If only a smile**  
Chapter 7 - Nocturne

**Warning**: Shounen ai, AU, OOC, original character (NOT based on anyone), slight fluff (finally! RanKen!!) and...err...a slightly sane Farf?  
**Genre**: Angst, Action (sort of), Drama and Romance  
**Pairing**: RanKen, YoujiSchu, OmiNagi

Note: A mistake in the last chapter that we shouldn't have missed. Wai's fault this time. Original line: Duty comes before anything. In last chapter: Duty comes before work. Yup...nice one Wai. (Wai: Ehehe...oops!)

As always, thank you for the reviews. Hopefully this chapter will be to your liking. The killer is finally revealed.

Disclaimer: We don't own these boys. *sigh*

_The sun goes down  
I feel the light betray me_  
- "Papercut", Linkin Park

He couldn't sleep. Ok, so he really wasn't suppose to be asleep anyway, considering his teammates were downstairs, worrying over a member of a rival team. How the hell did everything turn so complicated in a span of days? A week ago, he wouldn't have known that Ken was one of Schwarz. And Weiss and Schwarz went on their merry, separate ways, not into the tangled mess they were in now.

Tossing and turning in his bed, unable to find peace even in his nightmares. Frustrated, he sat up. There was no way he could sleep. He rubbed his hand over his face and let the hand rest on his forehead. Why couldn't he sleep?

He was agitated. He tried to decipher every emotion swirling in his head. Guilt, for how he treated the brunette. Anger, for the captor, the person would pay. Those were the ones he understood. But the others...Pain, sadness and...something else. Pain and sadness because of the absence of someone from his side. He knew why the brunette had stepped out and caused him to be captured. 

But the last one. He feared this one. He didn't have a full understanding of it, lacking it throughout his life. Was this his punishment for his actions? Was this the Gods attempt to punish him for everything he's done? By falling in love? 

Youji and Schuldich were downstairs still, the telepath insisted on trying to connect to Ken as Omi had done. Schuldich might be able to get something more information out of Ken. But suddenly, Ran could hear voices. Voices that didn't belong to any Weiss members, yet he recognized. 

Schwarz. And then he heard two female voices and his eyes widened. Manx and Birman. He leapt out of his bed and proceeded to stalk out of the room, maybe they found something. Maybe they found out where Ken was held. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Manx wasn't happy and that could be seen clearly from the deep frown on her face. She was pissed. Birman didn't look any better, she was listening intently on whatever status report Youji was giving her. Ran chose that moment to walk into the room, face impassive as ever. 

"Great timing, Ran." Commented Youji, motioning to the group. Apparently everyone had gathered there and he was the last to arrive. He sent a glare at Youji before he leaned against the wall to listen. 

"Schwarz has found where the killer is holding Ken." Birman explained. "They're going to need the help of Weiss for this." 

"Where is it?" Nagi asked. 

"The last place we thought of and the first place we should have looked." Omi said quietly, eyes looking at the ground. In fact, Schwarz seemed unusually quiet. Although lacking Ken, who usually spoke for the group along with Omi, Crawford never usually stay silent for too long. He always have a comment of some sort, the same goes for Farfarello, who usually has something unusual to share. 

"What's going on?" Schuldich asked suspiciously, he wasn't buying their silence. There must be something behind it. And from what his senses were telling him, he wasn't going to like it. 

"Schwarz has reasons to believe that Siberian is being held in Rozenkreuz." 

"What?" 

"But the Kritiker files state that Rozenkreuz was burnt down over a decade ago!" Exclaimed Youji. 

"The orphanage was. But not the labs, they were underground, so the fire didn't touch them." Crawford said grimly. 

"So we have to go there then, to rescue Ken-kun." Nagi said carefully. 

"As much as we'd hate to, but yes." Omi said, nodding his head. 

"Hate to?" 

"Rozenkreuz brings back bad memories, Schuldich-san. What Kritiker has on their files are not entirely true." Omi said quietly, avoiding Manx and Birman's eyes. The two secretaries looked at him with suspicion. 

"What are you saying, Bombay?" Demanded Manx. This was definitely not helping her mood. If they thought she's in PMS mode for most of the day, now they would think that she's on PMS 24/7. 

"The fire wasn't caused by Crashers. They didn't even rescue us from the fire." 

"What?" Whispered Manx. 

"By the time Crashers arrived at Rozenkreuz, Manx-san, all they saw were three people standing at the side watching a burning pyre. Crawford-san, Ken-kun and I got out from the burning building all by ourselves. Although Ken-kun did need some help." Omi stopped, closing his eyes. The horrific images was playing in his head again. The way Ken looked, half-eaten by the flames. His face was untouched, but his arms and legs...

"Crashers took us to Kritiker, getting us the medical help that we needed. The medical help Hidaka desperately needed, considering his condition at the time." Crawford continued the story, knowing Omi couldn't possibly continue. "We made a deal with Crashers, they would get the glory of saving us and burning down Rozenkreuz and we wouldn't tell anyone of their dirty little secret."

"What was that?" 

"That, is none of your business." Crawford said coldly, ignoring the death glare Manx currently had. 

"Who caused the fire?" 

"Someone Ken knew." Omi spoke up. "The only person Ken trusted, apart from me. He left Ken there to die, his own best friend. He-" Omi couldn't continue, his battle of suppressing his tears ended. He lost to the tears. But he continued, ignoring the tears falling from blue eyes. "He betrayed Ken. The only thing that can break Hidaka Ken is betrayal and Rozenkreuz. And currently, he's going through both. I can't let him break again! I won't!" 

"Who was it, Crawford?" Birman asked. 

"Kouchirou Kase." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The plan was finally set, they were leaving that very moment. The drive would be long, so Birman and Manx offered their services as drivers this time. Usually it would be out of the question for them to take part in any mission by the two teams, but this was a special case. 

On the first day they met, Schwarz and Weiss would have gone in separate cars, but no one even cared by this time. Omi and Nagi sat on the backseat in the car Manx was driving. Youji sat on the front seat, not flirting with the redhead secretary as usual, instead he was discussing the plan. Farfarello sat at the very back, where there was enough room for him to turn this way and that. But the Irishman was sitting quietly, not even moving. 

Birman wasn't quite as lucky. She had Schuldich sitting next to her and Ran and Crawford sitting behind. The two leaders were visibly glaring at one another. Crawford sending a glare of blame to Ran and Ran sending a death glare back. Schuldich watched the exchange from the rearview mirror with slight amusement. 

The plan would commence at exactly 2000 hours. Hopefully everything would go as planned. But then again, there was the fact that they don't know anything about the killer, so it's regarded as the unknown factor. No, anything could happen. All they could do is hope--maybe pray--that everyone would get out of this alive. 

By the time they arrived at the agreed 'rendezvous' point, the sun was setting. The place was a mere two minutes walk to the gates of Rozenkreuz. They got out of the cars, nodding to Manx and Birman both and the joint team started for the gates. 

The gates were just like how Omi remembered them. A large metallic gate that seem to create as an eerie air, it looked like the gate of a haunted house of some sort. Though he noted that the gate didn't look as shiny and as intimidating as before. Probably because it was rusted by the lack of maintenance by this time. Omi pulled the gate, thankful that it didn't creak loudly. 

The gate opened to reveal a small pathway. On either side of the path were tall shrubs. Despite having no one to look after them for a whole decade, the vegetation still grew. It was almost unreal for Omi. Crawford was walking in front along with Ran. Omi was thankful that Crawford was there to lead them, because there was no way he could. 

The path ended to reveal a large open space. The shrubs ended where the path ended. Stepping into the big field, they were glad for the cover of the night. The path was long and winding, so by the time they finally reached the big open space where the orphanage building was located, it was already dark and they had the cover of the shadows. 

Omi stared silently at the rubble of the building. He felt a shiver running through his spine. He could still hear the cackling flame and see the fire that engulfed the whole building. He could see the dancing flames like they were in front of his eyes. A hand dropped to his shoulder and he jerked suddenly, startled. The hand remained on his shoulder and he looked at the owner. Farfarello didn't look at him, instead his one eye looked at the rubble as Omi had earlier. 

Crawford motioned them to follow him. He had obtained a blue print of the lab, how on earth he got it, no one knew. He lead them to one end of the rubble. He looked at Nagi, the only telekinetic around. "Can you lift those?" He asked, pointing at remains of bricks and chunks of what used to be walls. Nagi wanted to roll his eyes, but decided against it. Crawford didn't know what he was capable of doing. Crawford knew Ken would be able to do it, but he had no experience with Nagi's telekinetic powers. 

Easily, the spot was cleared with efficiency and soundlessly. Crawford walked closer to the cleared space and dusted off one part. They could make out the outline of a handle in the darkness. He yanked it open to reveal a whole and a ladder leading down. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they reached the bottom, they could see light at one of the ends. They all saw that it was a long corridor, with other corridors to the left and right of this main one. Without a word, they went on their separate ways. There were fifteen sub-corridors in total and they had divided themselves into special tasks. Schuldich, Youji, Farfarello and Crawford had the job of taking care of the killer. Omi, Nagi and Ran were to look for Ken. Schu and Youji went into one corridor together, Farfarello another and Brad into another. Omi and Nagi went on their separate ways, exchanging a smile between each other before they entered their own chosen corridor. Omi looked back to see Ran walking to one corridor in particular, the longest one there. 

It had come as a surprise to Omi when Ran volunteered to look for Ken, instead of taking out the killer. He had heard from Nagi that the redhead usually had the job of finishing off the target. But not this time, he seemed more concerned in finding Ken. Youji had made a small joke that he hoped Ran wasn't planning on taking Ken out instead of the killer. The joke earned him two death glares (Ran and Crawford), three disapproving looks (Manx, Birman and Schuldich), one dirty look (Nagi), one disgusted look (Omi) and one death threat (Farfarello). That made the playboy quiet for a significant amount of time.

But from what Omi sensed--later he learned Schu sensed it too--Ran's intentions were genuine. He had no wish for Ken to be harmed. By prodding further, due to his shield being down at the time, Omi even found it Ran worried more about Ken than the others did. And Omi also found out the reason as to why Ran wanted to find Ken. 

He was going to apologize. It seemed that Ran finally resolved his inner conflict and reached a decision. There was no holding back now. He had admitted his feelings for Ken to himself and he would tell the brunette the first chance he got. Omi hid a smile when he heard this thought. He hoped Ken would be alright, because this was everything the brunette dreamed about. 

'_Be alright, Ken-kun._' He thought. '_You're going to get what you've always dreamed of...someone to live for._'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The eyes watched gleefully. They've finally arrived! Fun could finally begin! Such joyous times! The eyes followed Omi's unsuspecting form. A smile, the telepath's mind was too focused on finding his friend. He didn't seem to realize he was being followed. But the eyes always followed in the shadows, always in the shadows. Shifting and shifting until no longer seen. And with on flick of the wrist, the young telepath was taken out. Omi crumpled to the floor, never getting the chance of even a glimpse of his attacker. 

One down, six to go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nagi felt a prickle of fear seizing him suddenly, he whirled around to see a deserted corridor. He sighed softly. He could have sworn he felt something. The thought nagged him. It was as if something had happened to Omi. But it couldn't be, surely they would have heard some sort of struggle or Omi would have contacted any one of them telepathically if he were in trouble. 

Nagi continued his search. 

But what if Omi never got the chance to even call out? What if he was taken out from behind? The thought chilled him and he turned around slowly. Should he go back? He faltered for a moment, not knowing what to do. He had a mission, to find Ken. Omi would have to come later. He felt his stomach sink at the thought. 

Will this how it would be later? Omi comes second, after his mission? Even though he could hardly think of Ken as a mission, rather as a friend, an older brother even, he couldn't help but ask himself that question. His thoughts continued and he couldn't feel the presence of someone else in the corridor. 

'_Hasn't anyone told you that you should always stay focus in a mission?_' A taunting voice asked. Nagi's eyes widened, but too late. 

Two down, five to go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The eyes smiled just as the two body fell to the ground with a thud. It had been so easy to get them, despite their skills. The telepath didn't even sense the presence! As for the other, it had been expected. Not even as much as a suspicious thought. At least the telepath thought something was wrong. There goes his reputation as a telepath! The eyes were pleased, very pleased at the turn of events. 

Taking a turn, heading for the two Schwarz members. Four down, three to go. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A block for each. It was so amusing to see the American's eyes widen. The leader of Schwarz is usually such a stick-up-the-ass that he would never even consider let others see unnecessary emotions, but to be able to get a reaction from him? What an honor! 

And of course, the psycho. Too bad he didn't even react. He didn't seem to care when the needle pierce his skin, even. Just emitting a low growl. What a bore. Ah. There goes that. 

Six down, one Weiss leader to go. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He paused in front of one door in particular. It didn't look any different than the other doors, but for some reason, there was something that drew him to that door. He took out the lock pick that Youji had given him earlier out of the pocket of his trench coat. 

The door opened with a click and he pushed it open slowly, wary of a sudden attack. But it didn't come, so he stepped into the room. It was a small room, with what would have been white walls, except the color had began to fade. There was a lamp on the ceiling, but it appeared to be broken. There was a bed on one side of the room and his eyes widened as he saw the lump on the bed. 

He took long strides to get to the side of the bed and violet eyes shone with relief as he recognized Ken's form. Ken's sleeping form, as he could see the fall and rise of the brunette's chest. But it was also then that he noticed the wounds on Ken's arms and legs. They looked fresh. 

Carefully avoiding the wounds on the arm, he shook the brunette slightly in attempt to get him to wake up. Ken didn't stir, so he shook him harder. It was then that the brunette sat up suddenly, leaping away from his touch to hug closer to the wall. Jade orbs were filled with fear and the beginning of tears as he looked fearfully at the person he thought to be his captor. 

"Ken?" He didn't bother using Ken's codename or his surname. To hell with formality. He had to come to terms with his feelings and he had to do that starting from that moment. What Ken needed wasn't history to repeat itself, he needed closure, security and most of all, love. And he was more than willing to give all three. 

Jade eyes softened slightly and he felt a flicker of happiness as he realized Ken recognized his voice. Mouth parted slightly, face scrunched up in confusion. "Ran?" Ken whispered faintly, hesitantly. 

"Yes, it's me." He replied, reaching out for Ken once more. It was all Ken needed, before he practically leapt into the redhead's hold. His body was shaking as tears of relief fell from his eyes. Thoughts were nagging his mind, taunting him that the redhead had hurt him, betrayed him. But he didn't care, all he felt was the warmth of the hold and the way the leader of Weiss held him protectively. 

"Lets get you out of here first." Ran said, frowning. "Can you walk?" Ken faltered for a moment. He had lost a significant amount of blood due to his captor's fetish for blood and it had weakened him. 

"I don't know." Ken replied, forcing himself to his feet. He wavered slightly and Ran caught his arm to steady him. There was no way they could get out of there in time if he allowed Ken to walk. He made up his mind, he would carry Ken and let him walk the rest of the way, if Ken felt up to it. Without as much as a warning, he gathered Ken into his arms and walked out the door. Ken's eyes widened and he saw Ken blush at the motion. He had to grin at that. 

"Um, Ran...I-I can walk." The brunette stammered. But he was too weak to walk and Ran had to admit, he rather like the feeling of holding Ken in his arms. After realizing there was no way Ran was going to let him walk on his own, Ken sighed and leaned his head against the redhead's chest. Listening the the rhythmic heartbeat of this one cold leader of Weiss, Ken was slowly lulled to sleep. 

But he jerked suddenly. "What is it?" Ran asked, frowning. They've nearly reached the exit. He would contact the others outside, through his communicator to tell them he had Ken and leave the termination of the killer up to them. 

"The others." Ken whispered with fear. He didn't know how he knew it, but there was that cold feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever Omi, Crawford or Farf gets into trouble. And this time, it was bad. He could feel panic seizing his system. 

"They're looking for the killer, Ken. They-" 

"We can't go!" Hissed Ken. "The killer! They're captured!" 

"What? How do you know?" 

"I...Ran, please!" There was definitely no use arguing with Ken now. Especially because he had used the pleading look on Ran. The redhead never saw it before, so he was taken back slightly. In fact, he was surprised Ken gave in easily, despite what he put Ken through. There was a pang in his chest as he realized Ken trusted him, despite 'the betrayal' as Omi had called it. 

"Alright." He gave in. "Where are they?" Ken lifted a shaky hand and pointed to a door at the end of one corridor. Ran frowned, from what he remembered from the print Crawford had of the lab, it was the main test room. 

"Put me down." It wasn't a plea, yet not strong enough to be called an order. Ran put Ken down, but kept an arm around Ken's waist to steady him. "Ran?" A timid voice asked as they walked towards the end of the corridor. 

"Yes?" 

"Why?" 

"Huh? What?" 

"Why do you care? Why did you come?" Ken asked. For once, Ken didn't let his bangs cover his eyes, letting the redhead see his eyes clearly and Ran saw the many emotions the soccer player had. He saw endless pain, sadness, a flicker of happiness and hope, despite the lack of light. Ran stopped, mid-step. 

"I-I'm sorry, for the way I acted." Ran began, causing Ken's eyes to widen. "I know a lot of emotions, but...what I felt for you...I didn't know what it was. I was...scared I guess." He admitted. "I shouldn't have told you that." He whispered, reaching out to brush away brown locks. 

"Told me what?" Ken whispered back. 

"I shouldn't have told you it was a mistake and that you should forget it." Jade eyes widened and then softened, before shining brightly. The brunette leaned against his chest, hugging him tightly. Ran was taken back slightly, before a smile replaced the frown he had moments before and he held the brunette tightly. "Forgive me?" 

"I forgive you." Ken whispered back, looking up at him with an electric grin. "Besides, it's all I can do after one of my kids kicked a ball at you and knocked you out." Ken said with a snicker. Ran threw him a glare, but it was hardly intimidating, as he was smiling. 

"Thank God Schu never found out about that." Muttered Ran. At the mention of the other Weiss member, Ken looked at the door ahead of them. They looked at each other and shared a smile. They would finish this together and started walking towards the door again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The door wasn't like the other doors, rusty and unused. Surprisingly, it looked and smelled of paint. Ran frowned but he opened the door. They were greeted by darkness, unlike the other rooms, this one had no light. At least the other rooms had lit corridors so the light could stream in. This corridor had no light. The room was the heart of darkness. 

They both stepped in, but the instant they stepped away from the door, all alarm in Ken's head rang. His eyes widened and both he and Ran heard the door close behind them. Ken cursed silently and he felt Ran's hold on him tighten. 'Stay close', it said. 

But it was futile, as Ken felt a force wrench them apart. He was thrown across the room, hitting the wall with a hard thud. He clenched his teeth, squeezing his eyes in response to the pain that shot in his body. Light blared and he felt himself pinned against the wall by some unseeing force. Eyes still trying to adjust against the glare of light, he could only make out shadows between the piercing light. 

Jade eyes widened and his mouth opened in shock at the sight that greeted him. The rest of the Weiss and Schwarz members were pinned against the wall like he was. He looked to his left to see an unconscious Omi and further down he saw Crawford and Farfarello, both unconscious. At the other side of the room, the Weiss members were in similar positions and he saw Ran staring back at him with sharp eyes. He knew what Ran's gaze meant. The killer was nearby.

The sound of steps echoed in the room. Ken and nearly everyone else gaped at the person in front of them, smiling innocently back at Ken. Of all the people in the world, Ken never thought. Not once did his senses tell him, not once did he even **considered**...

His eyes widened in fear at what he saw next. Aoi Naoko took out a bloodied knife out of its sheath. 

To be continued

Ryoko: Finally, the killer's identity is revealed! Did anyone guess it right? 

Wai: That's why we needed her. Nope, we didn't want her to be some sort of girl-to-rescue heroine. The main point of Naoko being there was to be our twisted little evil person!

Aki: Twisted little evil person?

Ryoko: This story's antagonist in other words. (^_^);

Wai: Same thing. And to think that I nearly named her after you, Ryo-nee-san! 

Aki: But then the readers would think that this story is a self-insert.

Ryoko: The idea! You would lower me to the level of a madwoman?

Wai and Aki: *innocent smiles*

Chapter 8 - Requiem   
(No summary provided - It'll spoil the surprise!!)

This chapter was inspired by a lot of artists, though the 'theme' has to be "Nocturne of Shadows". If any of you play Ocarina of Time you would know it.

You know, a review would be nice. Considering what we have planned for next chapter...


	8. Requiem

If only a smile  
  
Chapter 8 - Requiem  
  
Genre: Angst, Drama and Romance  
  
Warning: AU, shounen-ai, violence, Death.We think that we're going to get some threats for this...Kleenex warning. Wai nearly went on a writing- strike when she found out how this was going to turn out.  
  
Suggested song to accompany the reading of this fic: Shindemo-ii (Ken's song)  
  
Sorry for the mistake in the last chapter, Wai's to blame yet again for that. Aki wrote the part where Weiss and Schwarz gets captured and Wai wrote the reunion scene but she failed to realize that the others are still unconscious at the time. So any complaints...blame it on Wai!  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own anything other than Naoko and the plot...Yes, there is a plot, people.  
  
  
  
  
  
"N-Nao-chan?" Ken stammered. The girl nodded excitedly, a strange glint in her eyes. She didn't look anything like the Naoko Ken talks to on the soccer field, the one who loved kids as much as Ken did. No, this is a different side of Naoko. The one Ken has never seen before.  
  
"Yup! That's me!" She exclaimed, waving the knife about. "Sorry for the entrance, Ken-kun...And for the wounds too. I guess I got a little carried away with the knife. And I'm really, really sorry that I had to capture you first and all. But what's a trap without a bait, right?" She said happily, winking at Ken. Ken felt his stomach churn, she was acting as if this was a game.  
  
"Nao-chan...why?"  
  
She scrunched up her gace as she thought. "I don't know, really. But I like you Ken!" Then she paused, eyes narrowing and face twisting into one of fury. "But of course, this ASS had to show up and ruin my plans!" She pointed the knife at Ran's direction.  
  
"You know, it's not very nice to toy with someone's feelings." Naoko said, frowning as she stalked over to where Ran was pinned against the wall. "You hurt Ken really badly, you know? And I don't think I can forgive you for that." Ken's eyes widened in panic, he frantically searched his mind for ways to distract her.  
  
"But that doesn't explain the killing, Nao." He shouted suddenly. She paused mid-step and then turned around, a concerned look on her face.  
  
"Well...how else am I suppose to draw you out? How else? I mean, you're an assassin, right? You'd need to find me first." She said slowly. "Besides, I wanted to know how it felt like to be you."  
  
"Wha-"  
  
"An assassin, a killer." Naoko said with a shrug, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Ken felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. She had just voices his insecurities. He had always thought that sometimes he felt as if he was standing on a borderline. He couldn't seem to find a reason behind their nightly duties anymore. Maybe they are just like their targets, just a bunch of low down killers.  
  
"Don't dream, little girl." Spoke up Schuldich. Apparently, the sedatives had lost its effects.  
  
"Who are you to call me little?"  
  
"Don't lower us to the likes of you." Snapped Schuldich. "We don't kill people because we feel like it. We do it because we have to. We protect the innocent by punishing the guilty." Naoko's eyes narrowed and unleashed her telekinetic power on the German telepath, knocking the wind out of him.  
  
"Schuldich!" Youji looked at the man beside him in alarm, but the telepath managed a smile back. It was then that Ken noticed Omi was concetrating deeply. The two telepaths were planning something, Schu was trying to distract Naoko so Omi could be able to concentrate on whatever plan they had.  
  
Naoko looked at the telepath in disgust and whirled around suddenly, breaking Omi's concentration. Luckily she didn't seem to have noticed what was going on. But to their utmost surprise, she smiled innocently at Ken. "Why would I waste my time with the likes of them, when I can proceed to my main concern, right Ken?"  
  
Suddenly, Ken felt his body jerk. Naoko was using her powers to summon him towards her. He cursed silently, thought hoped that if she kept herself occupied with him, at least his teammates and newfound friends would be able to throw the block she had on them off.  
  
"You don't know how terribly irresistible you are, do you, Ken?" She asked softly, a hand reached out to brush away at Ken's bangs. A low growl emitted from one corner of the room, from the Weiss side in particular. Ran was gritting his teeth at the scene, causing Ken to gulp, hoping that the redhead could keep his temper in check long enough for Omi to break the block.  
  
"I really didn't want to hurt you." She said, surprising Ken at how sad her eyes looked. There was wistfulness beneath those eyes, a lost look that Ken recognized in Omi's eyes and his own sometimes. It was the look of someone who knows too much and has been through a lot.  
  
Her smile turned sad. "Sometimes the path that we lead aren't always the right path. But we're forced to lead it anyway, no matter the consequences." Her voice trailed off, eyes focusing on the distance now. But amethyst eyes returned to Ken once more. "I'm sorry our paths never did join together, even though we did cross paths."  
  
There was a loud 'thud' which caused both Ken and Naoko to look up, only to see that Omi had landed on the ground. Ken remain pinned against the wall despite Omi's earlier attempts, apparently Naoko had made extra sure that he wouldn't go anywhere.  
  
"How the hell did you break the hold?" She asked, frowning. She made a small sound of discontent and rolled her eyes. This was what she gets for complaining that they didn't put up a good fight before.  
  
Shaking her head, she began to wag her forefinger at them, like a mother chiding her child for doing something he wasn't suppose to do. "Now, didn't anyone ever tell you to stay where you are and keep quiet?" Omi didn't hesitate, he was used to taking care of Farfarello, especially when the Irishman is having one of his attacks. It could result in him banging his head against the wall or screaming loudly, but what he wasn't prepared for was an unstable girl with psychic powers.  
  
"Aoi-san, you don't want to do this." He said slowly. "Attacks are normal for someone of your...condition. Farf has them too." Her eyes narrowed and that was when Omi knew he had said something wrong.  
  
"Are you implying that I'm insane, Tsukiyono-san?" She asked, looking completely sane, as she frowned and folded her arms to her chest. She looked almost like a miffed eighteen year old. Almost.  
  
"I'm not saying that. I'm merely-" Omi was cut off by the appearance of a maniacal grin on the raven haired girl's lips.  
  
"Oh, you're not wrong, Tsukiyono-san. They've told me I'm insane. I know I'm insane." She said, the grin vibrant on her face. Her attention, howeverm was taken away from Omi as Schuldich landed on his feet. "Oh great, now both telepaths are free!" She exclaimed, before muttering, "This just isn't my day."  
  
"You've got that right, liebe. Too bad you're too insane for my tastes." Schuldich said, as he proceeded to throw off the hold on the rest of his teammates as Omi did the same to Schwarz. "And too bad you're also a girl." He added.  
  
At that moment, the hold on Ken was released and the brunet breathed a sigh of relief and threw Omi a wry, but grateful grin. He only realized the redhead's presence a second later. Ken looked to his side and saw Ran standing beside him, even though the redhead's eyes were focused on Naoko. Inwardly, Ken smiled, it was good to be protected for a change.  
  
"HEY!" Naoko exclaimed in protest at Schuldich's comment. "What the hell is wrong with being a girl?" She demanded. It wasn;t the time or the place, but Schuldich chuckled.  
  
"In case you haven't noticed, fraulein telepath, none of us here is a 100% straight." Schuldich said, motioning at everyone in the roon and earning a glare from Crawford. Schuldich raised an eyebrow and the leader of Schwars shook his head, asking to whatever gods are out there why Schuldich would pick a moment like that to let that kind of information out.  
  
To everyone's surprise, she didn't throw a fit. Instead, she did the last thing any of them thought she would do, she pouted. "No fair. Why do all the cute guys have to be gay?" She protested.  
  
Ken watched as she faltered, noticing that she was coming back. This sounded like the Nao he knew. But what he didn't know was whether or not her insanity would kick in again or not. He had to try.  
  
"Nao-chan?" He said softly. Amethyst eyes shifted towards him, eyes that were now filled with fear, the glint gone in her eyes. It looked as if she was coming back to reality from whatever world she was in.  
  
"Ken-kun?" She whispered softly. "What have I done?" She sounded like a lost, scared little girl. And for once, the two teams of assassins in the room felt sorry for her. "I...Kami-sama, I..." She stopped, squeezing her eyes shut as if to block the memories out. "What is wrong with me?"  
  
"Easy, Nao-chan. We'll figure ou what's wrong with you later, alright?" Ken said, stepping towards her. Ran made a small, almost unaudible sound of protest, but Ken ignored it and flashed him a reassuring gaze instead before focusing back on Naoko.  
  
He was just a step away from her when he stopped. He knew he should wait until she was at ease with his presence before doing anything else. If he steps over the boundary, it might throw her back into the insanity and God knows what she would do then.  
  
"Nao, I want to help." He said slowlyl. He was vaguely aware that his friends were all in offensive stance, ready to attack if anything were to happen. No, he didn't want Naoko hurt, he didn't want to see another victim. Pleading amethyst looked at him hopefully, she was herself again.  
  
He placed a hand on her shoulder and felt her stiffen slightly, but slowly relaxed. The feel of the hand was familiar, something she could hold onto. She wouldn't have to slip back. Something she could-  
  
Ken gasped in pain as he was suddenly thrown against the wall. All eyes snapped back to Naoko, but the girl looked surprised herself. "What the hell are you trying to pull?" Snarled Crawford, he and the others ready to attack just as Omi rushed over to where Ken was.  
  
"No, don't!" Ken wheezed out. Schwarz faltered slightly, but not Weiss.  
  
"Now little girl, you really shouldn't have done that." Youji said. His tone was light, but from light in emerald eyes it was certain that he was far from kidding.  
  
"B-but...it wasn't me." Naoko stammered, looking confused. Suddenly, amethyst eyes widened and she whirled around. "No." She whispered softly.  
  
"Huh?" Nagi said, confused at her reaction, like the others. Although he was ready to send her through the walls.  
  
"NO! STOP!" She shouted. But as soon as her shout died down, a telekinetic static picked up in the room. Soon, various objects were flying about the room. Pieces of metal, old trays, needles...everything was flying at top speed, heading for everyone in the room, with the exception of the distressed Naoko.  
  
"Fuck! What the hell?" Cursed Youji as he ducked as a piece of metal flew over his head.  
  
"Telekinesis!" Nagi shouted over the clatters of metal around the room.  
  
"Shit, Nagikins, can't you do something?" Schuldich shouted, just as a piece of metal whizzed past his face, cutting his cheek. "This is getting damn annoying."  
  
"You can't really fight a telekinetic power if you don't know the source." Omi called out, he had yet made it to where Ken was when the telekinetic storm picked up.  
  
"Ken, can you find it?" Crawford shouted at the brunet, who wasn't too far away from him, yet was unable to hear him clearly. It wasn't until Crawford shouted for the third time that Ken finally understood.  
  
"I think so, I can almost pinpoint it." He called back.  
  
Before Ken could do anything, however, one of the metal tables headed his way and Ken just barely stopped it from crushing him. Although the table refused to budge when he pushed it away. "Shit." He swore under his breath.  
  
"Brad, that's a negative. I'm kind of stuck here!" Ken shouted.  
  
"What did he say?" Crawford shouted at Youji, who was next to him. But before the tall blond could reply, his eyes widened. He had caught a glimpse of one particular object heading for Ken's direction. A knife, aimed directly at Ken's chest.  
  
"Ken-kun!" Bellowed Omi, eyes wide in horror. Ken looked up, but there wasn't much he could do from his trapped position. His arms were pinned to his side, he had to raise them in the air to redirect the knife elsewhere. He could only watch helplessly as it flies closer, even as his friends tried desperately to rush to his side.  
  
'They're not going to make it.' Ken thought, even as he closed his eyes. He heard a soft gasp and immediately jade eyes flew open.  
  
In front of him, with the knife through her chest, was Naoko. She gave a soft, strangled gasp and her step faltered. The storm passed as all items clanged to the floor and Ken pushed the table roughly away and Ken caught Naoko before she fell to the ground. He looked at the knife and thought twice of removing it, after all, the blood flow would be more severe if he removed it and she could die from bloodloss. Though seeing where the knife was, a small voice in his head whispered,  
  
'It's not as if it's going to matter. She's going to die.'  
  
"Nao-chan." He whispered, as her eyes turned towards him.  
  
"I'm...so...rry." She whispered through gasps of breath. Ken shook his head as he fought back tears.  
  
"Don't say anything. We have to get you out of here." He told her. She gave a small, weak laugh and shook her head, wincing at the movement.  
  
"No...You know...I won't...make-"  
  
"Fuck! Don't talk like that!" The brunet shook his head stubbornly. "You're going to be just fine." The words brought nothing but pain to amethyst eyes. A hand reached out to touch Ken's cheek.  
  
"I shouldn't...you belong..." It was beginning to get hard to breathe and tears glistened in her eyes, falling from the corner of her eyes. "I...love you." Tears clouded Ken's vision and he shook his head once more, only to send them cascading down his cheeks.  
  
"No. You shouldn't, Nao. I'm a curse. Everyone who cares for me ends up-"  
  
"You're not...a curse." She said. "Never...a curse. You...are...Ken." The hand that caressed his cheek slowly fall down. "You are...a gift."  
  
The others could only watch this exchange with mixed feelings. Their captor was nothing more than a confused little girl, a girl who didn't even know what she was doing. And as she lay on the floor, her life flowing slowly out of her, it was hard not to feel sorry for her despite what she did.  
  
"Nao-chan, I'm getting you out of here." Ken said sternly, ready to carry her. She smiled, a soft and sad smile. She knew it would come down to this. They are walking on different paths after all. This was meant to be. Their destiny is foreordained.1  
  
"Good...bye." She said softly, even as her hand tried to reach for Ken one more time. But before she could, her eyes slowly closed and the hand fell limply to the ground. Ken could only watch the now lifeless form in his arms.  
  
"N-Nao?" He whispered, though he received no reply. He let his head drop down, bangs covering his eyes even as tears trailed down his cheeks. His shoulder shook and for a moment the others expected sobs from the Schwarz telekinetic. But when he reaised his head once more, his eyes were shining fury. He laid Naoko's body carefully on the ground and stood up.  
  
"Ken-kun?" Omi asked slowly, reaching out for his friend, only to find his path blocked by Ran. The leader of Weiss shook his head slowly.  
  
"Where are you?" Ken asked quietly, startling everyone.  
  
"Where is who, Ken?" Ran asked, voice steady.  
  
"Show yourself!" Ken said, louder this time. "SHOW YOURSELF YOU FUCKING COWARD!" Omi looked at Crawford, who suddenly narrowed his eyes and growled under his breath. Whatever it is that both Ken and Crawford could sense, Omi certainly couldn't.  
  
"KASE!" Ken shouted with all his might. There was a sharp intake of breath from Omi and his eyes widened. It can't be! But suddenly, out of the silence that surrounded them, a chuckle was heard. An air vent cover dropped down from the ceiling and a form soon followed.  
  
The Weiss members found themselves looking at the only person Ken truly hates, the first person ever to betray him. The person who left him in Rozenkreuz, all those years ago, to die. Ran had the compelling urge to cut him down to pieces, but kept his temper in check. His eyes were on Ken, waiting for the brunet's reaction.  
  
"Nice to see you again, Ken." The taller male greeted, a sharp glint in his eyes.  
  
"You did this." Ken said, eyes narrowed. "You twisted her mind for your own benefis, you bastard!" He spat. It seemed that his anger only amused the other.  
  
"Why Ken, I never thought of you as smart before. I didn't even know that you found out that the little brat was under my control this whole time." He paused, frowning. "Up to the last moment, that is. I don't even know where she found the power to break my hold on her." He shrugged and smiled. "Oh well, that doesn't matter now, does it? She's dead."  
  
"Why? Why did you have to drag someone who had nothing to do with us into the picture?" Ken demanded, visibly shaking with anger.  
  
"Because it was convenient and I didn't have to get my hands dirty." Kase replied simply. His eyes turned towards Ken's teammates. Then, with a small smirk, he placed a shield over Ken and himself. The telekinetics knew what it was straight away, it was a protective sphere, both Ken and Kase were trapped inside. No one can enter and no one can escape.  
  
"Ken-kun!" Omi shouted, eyes widening as he realized his friend was trapped inside. Jade eyes narrowed, byt Ken didn't say a word. Instead, he kept his eyes focused on his opponent. Yes, he had to finish this now, time to put all his demons to rest.  
  
"Keep back, Omi. You can't enter." Ken warned the young telepath, his eyes never leaving Kase.  
  
"Lets finish what we started twelve years ago, shall we?" Kase said, waving his hand to release an attack at the Schwarz telekinetic. Luckily for Ken he had years of training and experience on his side and was able to counter the attack. Kase raised an eyebrow. "Very good. I see your little assassin group has kept you on your toes." He commented.  
  
He repeated the same attack again, but just as Ken was about to counter it, he felt his body freeze. "Shit!" He swore under his breath.  
  
While watching the fight anxiously, Omi couldn't help but feel slightly confused. The Kase he knew was a telekinetic. When had he ever possess the ability to place a block on someone? How was he able to control them, which was something only a telepath can do.  
  
"He's a telepath." Crawford said suddenly, voicing Omi's suspicions.  
  
"How is it possible, Crawford-san?" Omi asked.  
  
"Remember, Omi, they carried out a lot of experiments here." The American's eyes were fixed on Ken as he grimly watched Ken throw off the block, even as Omi stared at him. "They were able to enhance someone's supernatural powers and they found out ways...to create these powers." Omi's eyes widened.  
  
"You mean Kase's not really a..."  
  
"He's not a real telepath nor is he a real telekinetic. He's artificial, he's Estet's little playtoy."  
  
"Is that why this guy hates Ken so much? Because Ken had real powers but he didn't want to use them?" Youji asked, he couldn't help but ask the question.  
  
"Yes, he was jealous." Just as Crawford finished that sentence, Ken was thrown against the shield, landing hard on the ground. Omi winced, knowing that Ken's condition was bad enough as it was. If this continued, however, it could mean certain death for the brunet.  
  
But they were helpless to do anything, all they could do was watch as Kase toyed with Ken.  
  
  
  
Every inch of his body was screaming in pain and he could virtually feel his powers being drained from his body. He Ken refused to give up. There was no way he would let Kase win. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  
  
For everyone who suffered through Rozenkreuz.  
  
He planted both his hands on the ground and pushed himself slowly up.  
  
For Naoko.  
  
His hands left the floor as he rose to his feet.  
  
For my friends.  
  
And he stood up straight, eyes glowing with renewed determination. There was no way in HELL he was going to let Kase win this fight. No way.  
  
For Me. He thought feverishly.  
  
Ken threw an attack at Kase, receiving only a smirk from the taller male who easily blocked it with a telepathic shield. Though the smirk was quick to leave his lips as he suddenly realized the brunet was using his powers to draw Kase to him. He struggled to release himself and he paused mid-way. His relief dissapated when he suddenly realized that Ken was nowhere to be seen, he had lost sight of him when he was struggling.  
  
"Behind you." A cold voice, so unlike Ken, said. Kase whirled around, only to be met by a direct punch on the face by the infamous Schwarz assassin. The taller male felt the trickle of blood flowing from his nose. He snarled, only to receive yet another punch, this time it caught him straight in the gut.  
  
He felt back, hitting the ground with a loud thud and had the wind knocked out of him. Ken wasted not even a second before he unleashed his third attack, a swift kick to Kase's side. He didn't even think twice before unleashing yet another viscious kick, this time with all his might, the sound of cracking ribs drowned only by Kase's wail of pain. It wasn't for nothing that Ken spent time as a goalie for the J-league, even though it was only for six weeks because it was part of a mission. Nevertheless, they were the best six weeks of his life.  
  
Ken flicked his wrist, sending the bloodied body of his former best friend across the room, smacking on the shield, which flickered and disappeared. It seemed the table has turned as Kase looked at Ken with murderous eyes, but there was something else in those eyes, a resolve. And Ken didn't like it one bit.  
  
Kase smirked, knowing that Ken had read what was going on in his mind. "This isn't going the way I planned, but I guess it could be worse." Ken's eyes widened and at that moment his friends were shoved out of the room with the last of Kase's strength. As soon as they were outside, the door slammed closed and the automatic lock was clicked in place.  
  
"At least with this," Kase said, pushing himself to a sitting position, "I'll take you to hell with me."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?" No sooner had he finished the sentence, the room around him went up in flames. Angry jade eyes flew to where Kase sat smirking. "You bastard." There was no escape.  
  
  
  
Omi groaned as he picked himself off the floor. "What the hell?" Schuldich said, pointing at the locked door.  
  
"Shit! Siberian!" Cursed Crawford, just as he, Youji and Ran stalked towards the door and began to bang against it.  
  
"It's no use." Schuldich said, eyes the solid door. It didn't even budge despite the force the three were banging against it. "You'll never open it. Not from the outside."  
  
"What? But Ken is in there!" Exclaimed Omi. "Can't we do something?"  
  
"Schu's right. It's impossible to open from the outside, but maybe from the inside..." Youji's voice trailed off.  
  
"Contact him, Omi. Give me a clear channel." Ordered Crawford. Omi nodded.  
  
"Ryoukai."  
  
  
  
Ken stalked over to where Kase was, grasping his shoulder tightly and growled, "What the hell did you just do?"  
  
"You're trapped in here, with me." He said, the smile ever present on his face. "It's finally here, after such a long wait-" He stopped, coughing loudly. "Well done, Ken. Some fighting spirit you've got there. Too bad I don't have enough energy to end this fight in my favor, when I could have easily, years ago."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"I'm dying." He replied simply. "Estet's experiments didn't exactly do me much good, the chemicals they used really fucked me up. They shorten your lifespan, basically. So think of this as a gift from a dying man." Kase said, looking surprisingly calm and...sane?  
  
"The chemicals? They used them on..."  
  
"No, they never used it on you. Only on me and a couple of others, but they didn't make it. They used the serum they developed from your blood, because you're a true telekinetic. Me? I was their guinea pig." He paused, smile disappearing. "Unfortunately for you, before Estet died altogether, they assigned me with one important mission."  
  
"Burn Rozenkreuz." Ken said.  
  
"Quite right. They wanted everything destroyed, because someone found out about them. Someone they couldn't kill. Someone you know, quite well."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The very person who saved your life."  
  
"Crawford." A nod.  
  
"That's right. So they gave me a mission. Destroy the evidence, including the source of the serum."  
  
"The source...Me? Is this what it's all about?" Ken asked incredulously. "You wanted to fulfill your first and ONLY mission from Este? To kill me? You did all this..." He gestured at the fire around them. "You used people, hurt them and killed them...just for ONE damn mission from a bunch of DEAD people?"  
  
"That and another reason, a personal reason." Kase said quietly. "I wanted to beat you, just once." He paused, laughing bitterly. "You perfect little ass, no one could ever beat you."  
  
Anger disappeared from jade eyes, leaving only sadness. "I'm not perfect, far from it. I told Nao...everyone I love always ends up dead. Anyone who cared for me ends up hurt. I'm a curse."  
  
"You're not a curse." Kase said, surprising Ken. "They called you gifted remember? Besides, the guy out there obviously..." He stopped, laughing a little. "Loves you..."  
  
"Kase?"  
  
"If you love him, if you love any of them," Kase said, serious eyes looking at Ken. "Tell them to get the hell out of here." That was when it all fall into place.  
  
"You rigged this place, didn't you?" It was more a statement, rather than a question. A quiet acceptance in Ken's part.  
  
"Yes. They don't have a lot of time, they can't save you, but you can save them. Before this whole godforsaken place blows up." He coughed again. "I've planted a few explosives here and there, timed them all."  
  
Ken gave a short laugh. "You made sure that I wouldn't get out of this alive, didn't you?" Kase could only snort and coughed some more, though this time there was blood on his hand. "I don't know why you told me this, but I'll have to tell them to get out of here somehow. At least...he'll be safe." Ken said, whispering the last part as he gazed at the locked door.  
  
"Life's a bitch, eh?" Despite the situation, Ken laughed. It was a bitter laugh, yet...whatever...  
  
"Yeah, life's a bitch." Ken said.  
  
"I'll see you in hell, Ken." Before he could even ask, his eyes returned to Kase, but the other wasn't moving nor did it seem, was he breathing. Ken cursed under his breath and shook his head. Yes indeed, a bitch.  
  
Ken looked around the room, watching the flickering flames, burnt in his memories foraver. The flames that haunted his dreams all these years. He shook his head, looking at the dead man at his feet. "No." He whispered quietly. "THIS is hell."  
  
  
  
  
  
'Ken-kun!' Omi called out.  
  
'Omi, get everyone out of here.' Ken said quietly.  
  
'What? No way! We're not leaving without you!'  
  
'Omi, this place is rigged. It's going to blow up soon.' Omi felt a chill go down his spine.  
  
'Where did he plant them?' Crawford asked.  
  
'He didn't say.'  
  
'Get the info out of him, then! Torture him...do something!' Exclaimed Youji.  
  
'He's dead, Balinese. There's nothing much I can get out of a dead man.'  
  
'How?'  
  
'There's no time to explain. Look, just get out of here, alright?'  
  
'What about you?'  
  
'It's an auto lock and a solid door, there isn't enough time for me to get out of here, even if I tried.'  
  
'You're trapped.' Schuldich said quietly, eyeing Ran.  
  
'Yes, so now get the hell out of here. All of you, I mean it.'  
  
'But Ken-kun...'  
  
'You can't save me, so save yourself.'  
  
'I'm not going to leave you here!'  
  
'Chibi, if you can't do it for yourself, then do it for me. I want you all to live.' Ken pleaded. This simply wasn't the time for Omi to be stubborn.  
  
'I'll get them out, Ken.'  
  
'You better Bradley.' Ken said, smirking. 'I'll have your word on that.'  
  
'One for the kitty-cat.' Ken had to keep himself from laughing when he heard Farfarello's voice.  
  
'Thank you. Farewell.'  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"No!" Omi shouted loudly. "I'm not leaving."  
  
"Getting yourself and the rest of us killed will not help Ken, Omi." Crawford said, as he grabbed the youngest member of Schwarz by the arm and dragged him down the corridor.  
  
"But what about our promise?"  
  
"I have a new promise now. I just promised Ken that I'll get all of you out, now get the hell out!" Omi had to blink back the tears from his eyes, but he knew Brad was right. But he simply couldn't...  
  
"Let's go." Farfarello said, nudging the boy. Omi could do nothing but comply, even as the tears finally flowed.  
  
Gomen, Ken-kun.  
  
"Wait a minute?" Youji said when they are outside, looking around. "Where's Ran?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Ken heard a faint beeping, it was coming from his pocket. Curious, he reached inside and saw the tiny communicator. It didn't take long for him to figure out who it was.  
  
"I had a feeling you would call." Ken said, smiling sadly.  
  
"I'm not leaving you here."  
  
"God, Ran! This place is going to blow!"  
  
"I don't care. I'm not leaving you."  
  
"No! You have to go!"  
  
"I'm staying here. If you can't get out of there...then I'm staying here."  
  
"I don't want you to die too, you idiot!"  
  
"Hn."  
  
"Ran!"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Love, you have to go."  
  
He was met by a stunned silence. Followed by a soft, "What did you say?"  
  
"Love." Ken said, he couldn't help but smile wryly. "I love you, Ran."  
  
"Ken...I..."  
  
"Please go. I love you too much to let you die too."  
  
"I-I love you too much to let you go." Ken could feel tears rushing down his cheeks.  
  
"One of us has to live, Ran. Please, I'm begging you."  
  
"I-I can't."  
  
"Do it for me, love. Just go."  
  
There was a falter. "Ken..."  
  
"I won't hate you, Ran. I've already told you I love you. Respect my wishes please and leave." Steps faltered, but then slowly moved away from the door.  
  
"I love you Ken." Ran whispered one last time.  
  
"Forever." Ken whispered back, closing his eyes. Closing the communicator, he couldn't help the sobs that wrecked through his body. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."  
  
Watching the flames that slowly close in on him Ken could only whisper, "I love you."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 9 - currently untitled  
  
No teaser so far  
  
  
  
  
  
Please review!!! 


	9. Forever in your heart

Hah! Second series that we've finished! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed from the first chapter till the second-to-last. We've changed the rating, it's no longer a PG-13, it's moved up a notch to R instead and for, err, a good reason. (I couldn't stop blushing through that part! Hey, a hentai mind I might have, but put it to use I've never done. – Wai)

Happy reading and don't forget to review!

Title: If only a smile

Chapter 9: Forever in your heart

Warning: Shounen-ai, death and SAP (major dose this time...)!!!

Disclaimer: Never did we even consider the possibility of one of us owning the Weiss boys...OK, that was a lie. All characters are property of: someone really, really important, which is none of us, so we don't own 'em.

Because I miss you

And this is all I wanna say

I guess I miss you beautiful

These three words have said it all

You know I miss you

I think about you when you're gone

I guess I miss you

Nothing's wrong

I don't mean to carry on

- "I miss you", Darren Hayes

You do something to me that I can't explain

So would I be out of line

If I said,

I miss you?

- "I miss you", Incubus

It's only been 24 hours that Weiss and Schwarz went back on their separate ways, both grieving over the loss. It wasn't as much grief for Weiss as it was for Schwarz, at least, it shouldn't have been. But the magnitude of the loss hit them all. Ken grew on people, creeping into their hearts and latching on to it and refusing to let go.

But with him gone, there is only an empty space left, where once a friend, a brother, a loved one was. There was no exchange of words between the two teams as they trudged back to where Manx and Birman waited, the two secretaries had seen the smoke in the distance where the fire had consumed what was left of Rozenkreuz. The place would be nothing more than a memory.

No questions asked, Manx had been the only one who dared to look at Crawford, asking a silent question as to the status. But the leader of Schwarz remained quiet, refusing to speak, honoring Ken's passing with a vow of silence. At least, for now. The wounds were too fresh, he would honor this loss by not reverting to his old, business-like self so quickly.

It was around eight o'clock at night, Youji and Schuldich had gone up to their room. They did nothing more but think about the young man, who had appeared so suddenly in their lives along with three others, only to be snatched away just as quickly. Ken's presence felt nothing more than a fleeting memory, but no fleeting memory could have this strong of a reaction. 

Youji had his dealings with death, something that had nothing to do with their targets anyway. Asuka was still a lingering presence, despite his current relationship. Something that Schuldich had immense patience over. Although the telepath had no patience over little things in their relationship, the intrusion that Asuka's memories had in their relationship was something that he would let Youji deal with himself. Schuldich wouldn't intrude whenever the blond would contemplate about his past. Something or someone special should be cherished after all. As long as it doesn't affect how they lived, everything would be alright.

Nagi was alone in his room, staring at the computer screen in front of him, debating on whether or not he should contact Omi. In his young age, he never really dealt with the death of someone close to him. They've had some pretty close calls, but nothing definite. The very thought of losing someone indefinitely scared him, despite his profession. He had always thought of their missions as nothing more than business, something they had to do. Under his unshakable front, he is still a kid after all. And sometimes a little dose of reality reminds him and others of how young he truly is.

There was only one Weiss member who wasn't indoors and the leader of Weiss was sitting on a bench in the park. None of the others searched for him, possibly due to the fact that none of them had seen him leave. And of course, Ken's death had struck him the hardest.

It also reminded him of a loss that he suffered not too long ago. The death of his parents had been a severe blow to him, as well as to his sister. He had the bad luck of having to announce to his sister, right after she came out of her coma, groggy and unsure as to what really happened, that their parents were dead and that he was tied to an underground organization responsible for eliminating those who caused suffering to others.

Right after his parents' funeral, he had gone to the rubble that had been home. He simply had to return to it, to where all the happy memories were shared and would remain. It helped in easing some of the pain. It was for the same reason that he was sitting in the park at that moment.

It was where he had first met Ken, when he was watching the soccer practice. He remembered Ken's vibrant face as he shouted at his kids, urging them to go. Ran had watched as Ken turned to his side to talk to his assistant, Naoko and the two shared a laugh at something Ken had said. It was surreal, to realize that those two were gone.

A second later, Ran had been knocked unconscious by a stray soccer ball. He smiled sadly at the thought, a small laugh escaped his lips. He savored the moment, but as soon as those happy thoughts filled him, the realization of what he couldn't have followed.

That was when reality really kicked in and the tears followed. The bitterness of losing something they could have had and the times they _should_ have had. The guilt of hurting the only person he'd learned to love, just because he was scared of those very feelings. And the pain. The pain of the knowledge that the last words Ken ever said to him was the words he waited his whole life to hear. What should have been a beginning of something beautiful was instead an end of something precious.

He hated the feeling, hated the injustice of it all. But it all came with the job, didn't it? And in that moment, Ran made a decision.

'No more.' He thought to himself. 'I've had enough of this. I held on because I had a feeling something important was about to happen...and it did. So why the hell did I have to lose it?' He fought the anger that was rising in his chest, threatening to suffocate him. 'Why did I have to have love in my hands, only for it to be snatched away from me? I might as well have never had it at all.'

"It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." He once heard Aya quote. 

'Aya.' He thought, achingly remembering his sister. 'I should go back. I can't stay.'

"Crawford, we have news." Birman's voice said on the other line.

"What is it?"

"Your vision is confirmed. They've found him." She said, sounding both relieved and ecstatic. Crawford allowed himself to sigh in relief, glancing over at the other room where Omi was staring blankly at the television and where Farfarello was licking one of his knives.

"When can we see him?"

"Now, if you'd like. The doctors have implemented a strict one visitor policy, however."

"Nothing a little persuasive telepathy can't deal with." Crawford said, glancing at the door of the living room where he knew the young telepath was. "What's his condition?"

"Not too good, but he's alive."

"Status?"

"Smoke inhalation, broken ribs and some internal bleeding, but nothing too dramatic. There are some pretty deep cuts that needs stitches, most likely from the girl."

"Reasonable, considering the circumstances. He's sustained far worse. What is his **real** status, Birman?"

"He went into shock a couple of times, the fire did get to him. More than likely it triggered some old memories. I think we're looking at some counseling session in the future." Crawford winced, something he doesn't do too often but all thoughts of that night seem to force that reaction out of him.

"It's only natural, after the hell he's been through." Crawford muttered, then raised his voice. "We're heading over there now."

"Good. I'll inform Manx." And they both hung up. Crawford walked to the living room and glanced at the other two.

"Tsukiyono, get Farfarello ready, we're leaving." He ordered, that prompted a reaction from Omi. He looked up suddenly at Crawford, though his face was still blank. He had been staring at the television, even though it wasn't turned on, that didn't stop the young man from staring at it for the whole day, however.

"Where to?" Omi asked, out of confusion rather than his usual curious trait.

"To the hospital."

"Hospital?" He frowned. "But why-"

"No questions." Barked Crawford, as he made a motion with his hand for the telepath to follow. Omi wasn't in the mood to defy an order, however and soon followed.

-|- One month later -|-

"You think you're ready for this?" Omi asked the older brunet. Ken grinned at the youngest of his companions.

"Of course. I need to thank them after all."

"Hmph. Thank them, huh?" Teased Omi. Ken rolled his eyes and ruffled Omi's hair affectionately. The younger male never once left his side during his road to recovery, which didn't exactly take very long. It had been a tiring five weeks since that fateful day in Rozenkreuz. All of his demons were finally laid to rest.

He would have come sooner, if not for Omi's protests and Brad's orders. Farfie showed up a total of five times to the hospital, mainly because he was curious as to Ken's condition. The telekinetic assumed that he probably thought Ken's pain would 'hurt God' or something. But from what Omi told him, it seemed that their resident lunatic was actually a little worried. That small part of Farfie that was sane was probably gaining control, but only for a moment or two, because he would then terrorize the nurses.

"You do realize that some of them would probably not be pleased that we did not inform them of your situation sooner." Crawford stated.

"Well, they'd just have to be satisfied with the fact that I'm alive."

"And the fact that you can send them through the window, ne, Ken-kun?" Omi said, snickering.

"You got that right, kiddo."

"Kitty cat will hurt God?" That prompted more laughter from the duo, the fourth member of the group looked away from them, shaking his head. But even he had a smirk on his face.

Despite what he projects himself as, Crawford wasn't exactly the heartless bastard that he, himself hoped to be. He cared for the well being of his team. Whether it be the psychopath, the genki kid or the irritating brunet who always seemed to know which buttons to push. And as Ken himself said once, "he's not bad...for a commandeering asshole." 

"Have you heard from them, though, Brad?" Ken asked.

"I have, just a couple of exchange of final reports with Schuldich."

"Schuldich?" The brunet raised an eyebrow.

"It seemed that Abyssinian was...indisposed."

"Is he alright?" Ken asked, immediately concerned and for good reasons too. Despite his many attempts to try and contact Weiss, Crawford, Manx and Birman practically forbid him to come even near a phone. In fact, it wasn't until five days after he was discharged from the hospital that he was actually permitted to be on his feet and even then, they had made sure that the locks on the door were reinforced.

Both Crawford and Omi had a blast preventing Ken's many attempts of escape...well, not really...

But Ken had been very suspicious as to why they refused to let him go tell Ran he was alright or even call any one of the Weiss members even when he was already at home. Manx and Birman who insisted on Ken's 'full recovery and speedy comeback as a member of Schwarz' thwarted all of those thoughts out. Ken wasn't convinced by far, but he knew the order that both secretaries had delicately stated. Rest or else.

Now, it seemed as if his suspicions are confirmed. 

"Brad?"

"He handled your...death...rather badly, Ken-kun." Omi said quietly, staring at the ground.

"He left Weiss."

"WHAT?!" Shouted Ken, eyes wide.

"Didn't even say anything...just left..." Muttered Omi. "Nagi told me." He said quietly, slowly looking up to see Ken's reaction. There were so many emotions on the brunet's usually masked features and for once, those brown eyes were unusually more expressive.

"Where did he go?"

"No one knows. Kritiker's wasn't exactly looking." Crawford said.

"But..." There was a pause as Ken stared helplessly at both his teammates. But just as suddenly as the news was dropped on him, Ken's mood changed. Fire burned in the depths of brown eyes as he roughly grabbed the collar of Crawford's shirt, prompting a gasp from Omi and even a raised eyebrow from Farfarello. The man who became the focal point of Ken's rage, however, did not look the least perturbed. Possibly because he saw this coming.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me this? Why the FUCK did you lock me up inside that stupid apartment when I could be out here, looking for him?" He demanded.

"Two reasons, Siberian, it would have jeopardize your recovery and there was no point." Crawford said, looking directly into Ken's eyes. "It would be a futile search, Siberian."

"What do you mean?"

"Fujimiya left the day following the incident at Rozenkreuz. Even if we did tell you at the moment you regained consciousness, you would have been a month too late. By that time, his trail would have gone cold." The grip Ken had on the older male's shirt slackened and he promptly pulled away.

Crawford made no movement as to straighten his clothing. Instead, he stared at Ken for the longest time, trying to decipher his emotions. But he could sense nothing and no vision came to his aid. His visions had abandoned him for a while, it seemed. For some reason or other, he hadn't been able to see anything lately. He wasn't sure as to the cause, but he figured it must have something to do with the events in the past month.

He had been angry at his inability to sense a young telepath creeping up at him. And though he didn't divulge his frustration to anyone, he kept on seeing Tsukiyono hanging around nearby, as if to ease the anger with his presence. Crawford had been annoyed, initially, but soon found the younger man's presence of some degree, a comfort. But the young telepath must have known that, for he did not say anything, even when he sat across the brooding Crawford in the living room of their shared apartment.

"It doesn't mean," he began, causing Ken to look up, "that you'll never find him." Brown eyes searched for signs of deception in the older male's eyes but he found none. "I suggest that you talk to Schuldich about the whereabouts of Fujimiya's younger sister."

"Wait! I thought she was in a coma after that hit and run incident?" Asked Ken, even Omi looked surprised.

"She was, but she came to not too long ago."

"How do you know?" Omi asked. Crawford smiled, the same business-like smile he wore whenever he sees an easy mission ahead of them.

"Schuldich."

"Schuldich told you this?"

"He seems to possess quite a lot of information regarding Fujimiya, but would not disclose them to me. Obviously it is because of my blatant aversion to Fujimiya. However it is in my opinion that he would pass on any information he has to you." Crawford said, looking at Ken.

"You think she might know where Ran is?"

"I'm quite certain of it."

Ken looked at Omi and the youngest of Schwarz shrugged, as if to say, "What have you got to lose?" 

"If we hurry, we might catch the rest of Weiss at the store. They won't change shift until 5." Crawford said, pointing to the direction of the Koneko. Ken nodded. Omi poked Farfarello who had been uninterested with this whole exchange and the four members of Schwarz walked on.

It was a relatively slow day for Koneko and thank heavens for that. With only three members, none of them think they could live through a full house at the moment. It was hard enough that the shifts had to be changed around. Youji had complained loudly about having to cancel his usual Wednesday night outs, when Nagi quietly pointed out that he goes out anyway. Work or no work. That shut the playboy up.

"My back feels like it's about to break." Grumbled Youji even as the sole customer strolled out of the shop.

"You didn't do anything." Schuldich said lazily. "We had a total of six customers the whole day." He paused, thinking for a moment. "You know, if this keeps up, we might have to close."

"Good riddance." Muttered Youji.

"Youji-kun, may I remind you that we won't have a cover anymore if that were to happen?" Reminded Nagi. The quiet telekinetic had been unusually quiet lately. They knew that their youngest member was quiet, but he seemed more withdrawn. Schuldich had thought that it was probably because of the fact that Omi had failed to show up in the past weeks.

"Yeah. I know." Youji said, exhaling loudly. "But if this shop closes, at least Fujimiya might come back or something. He always loved this worthless store."

"I doubt Ran would." Schuldich said, voice barely audible. Any other comments were suppressed as the bell jingled to signal that someone had entered the store. Nagi, who had been the first to look up, was stunned to silence as he stared, wide-eyed at who had entered the store.

Schuldich was second to look up and he too, was reduced to a gaping statue. Youji saw the expression on the other two's faces and reacted with a frown. He had had his back to the door and all he could see was the change on his teammates' faces. He turned around, cigarette still at hand, to see what was it that caused the other two to gape soundlessly. His eyes widened as he recognized the brown haired lad and the cigarette he had been holding dropped to the ground.

"Kon'wa, minna-san." Ken said quietly, even as Omi tried, unsuccessfully to smother a giggle. Even Crawford had a smirk on his face.

"What the hell?" Youji managed to choke out, quite loudly.

"Explain!" Demanded Schuldich, the breath he had been holding caused his voice to explode, even as he wheeze slightly. Ken hid a grin behind his hand and approached the three, nodding his head politely and began his tale.

A couple of packs of Marlboro Reds later, the three remaining Weiss were still staring at Ken, long after he finished his story. Omi glanced nervously at Ken, who glanced nervously back at him. Of all the reaction they expected, stunned silence was hardly what they expected.

Crawford cleared his throat, his patience had clearly worn thin a while ago. Maybe it was the way he cleared his throat, whatever it was, Weiss snapped back to reality.

"Shit. That psycho you've got there is right to call you kitten. You certainly have more than one life." Commented Youji, rummaging around for another cigarette.

"That doesn't explain why you didn't _call _when you did regain consciousness." Stressed Schuldich, with an accusing tone. Ken glared at Crawford and Omi in turn. Crawford calmly smirked at the younger man, but Omi withered in Ken's glare.

"Ah." Schuldich said, noting this. "I see. The overprotective girly-boy and the stick-up-the-ass leader. Of course, I should have known." Nagi sent a glare when Schuldich branded Omi as a girly-boy, but as always, the German was immune to the glare.

"Do you know where he is, Schuldich?" Ken asked anxiously, ignoring the outbursts that threatened to leap out of the mouths of said telepath and seer. Schuldich took a drag out of the cigarette he stole from Youji and shrugged.

"Not sure, really. It's not really my problem, if he's not part of Weiss anymore."

Brown eyes sparked for the second time that day.

"Bullshit."

"I beg your pardon?" Schuldich said, though he made a mental note to himself that he sounded too much like Crawford for his liking.

"You know as well as I do that you all still consider him a part of Weiss." He paused, motioning his own team. "Weiss and Schwarz works the same way. If one of Schwarz were to leave for some reason, we'd still consider him part of the team, no matter where he may be. And we'd welcome him back—although we'd give him a beating of his life—because we're a team and we're a family."

Omi raised an eyebrow and eyed Crawford. The American didn't argue and neither did Farfarello, although the Irishman was in no shape to argue. He seemed to be off in his own world. But Omi and Crawford were in this world, mentally and physically and they both heard what Ken had said. It was perhaps the first verbal claim that Weiss and Schwarz were the same. An equal.

And whatever tension, however little, that was still left between the two teams, dissipated.

Schuldich smirked and nodded. "Alright, you want the truth, do you?"

"Nothing else."

"I don't know where Fujimiya is, really."

"But you know someone who does." Ken pointed out. 

"I see Crawford has revealed that bit of information to you."

"About half an hour ago, yes." Ken admitted. Schuldich shook his head, even as he grabbed a notepad and a pen and began scribbling something furiously. He stopped, stared at his writing before tearing the paper and handing it to Ken.

"Her address."

"Osaka?" Ken asked, incredulously. He seemed to have remembered that Ran used to live somewhere in Tokyo and Weiss had once lived in Kyoto, but he couldn't quite fit where Osaka might come from.

"One of her last living relatives live there. Grandparents or something." Explained Schuldich. Ken nodded, determination in his eyes as he smiled.

"Thank you, Schuldich."

"So when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow." Ken said flatly, in a tone that left no room for argument. So whatever it is that Crawford or Omi might say before, they were forced to bite their tongue because there was no way Ken was going to listen to them.

No way in hell.

This was his personal mission and no one was about to stop him from embarking on this journey.

Ken was tired, but he knew he couldn't go around to search for a hotel just yet, he had to see Ran's sister first. But he had been walking around the neighborhood for some time, it was growing dark and he was exhausted. He wanted to collapse and just sleep it off, uncaring where he was.

"Are you alright?" A female voice asked suddenly. Ken whirled around and blinked as he stared at a young girl with blue hair. She wore a light green dress, one that Ken had seen other girls wear, but the white sneakers didn't exactly compliment the dress, but she was still a sight to see. Ken noted that he was staring and quickly averted his eyes, staring at her face instead. She blinked back at him and for a moment all they did was stare at each other. But Ken regained his senses and forced himself to talk.

"Ah, yes, I am. Thank you." He smiled wearily at her, prompting her to blush. She looked no older than sixteen. "Actually, could you help me out?"

"Yes, sure!" She exclaimed, smiling now, though the blush still tainted her cheeks.

"I'm looking for this address." Ken said, handing her over the piece of paper with Schuldich's chicken scratch handwriting. The girl frowned over the paper for a moment, before her eyes widening and she looked at Ken again with mild anticipation.

"This is my address." She said simply. It was Ken's turn to be surprised as he suddenly stared at her with renewed intensity, finally noticing a faint resemblance between this girl and the man he was currently searching.

"Are you Fujimiya Aya?" He asked. She nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh! Are you Nagi? Or Schuldich?" She paused for a moment as she considered this. "No....Schuldich talks a little weird...Or are you Youji?" Again, she paused, this time to scrunch up her face. "No...Youji's weird, period. Are you Nagi then? Are you here to bring nii-chan back?" She chattered on excitedly. Ken grinned, weariness dissipating as he stared at this energetic girl.

"No, I'm not Nagi."

"Oh? Then who are you then? I know Nii-chan doesn't have a lot of friends." She paused, rolling her eyes. "Go figure."

Ken laughed. "Well, Ran tends to be a little anti-social, doesn't he?" Aya nodded. "Do you happen to know where he is, Aya?"

"We~ll...."

"Look, I know that you don't know who I am and Ran probably warned you not to tell anyone where he is, least of all a stranger, but I really need to see him." Ken said, his own desperation evident in his voice.

Suddenly, realization dawned on the young girl, even though the thought defied all that Ran had told her about the recent events. "You're Ken aren't you?" Ken nodded, very slowly. He didn't exactly know what Ran had told his little sister, whether or not Aya thinks he's alive...

"But...how?" Apparently, she did believe this, despite the fact that she had never met Ken until now. But Aya had always had some sort of empathy, she can sense when someone is telling the truth and when he's not.

"I...It's complicated." Aya nodded, staring into space for a few moments. Undoubtedly considering whether or not she should disclose the whereabouts of Ran. She nodded again and then stared at Ken.

"Follow me, then." She said, smiling, as she latched onto Ken's arm.

Ran hadn't been a wreck, exactly. He had, after all, a little sister to think about. Not that Aya really needed him. The young girl was independent, despite her young age. She had been so due to their parents' death and the time she spent at the hospital.

Takatori Reiji had some impacts in the two Fujimiyas' lives, but it seemed that his presence was a bane in Ran's existence, rather than Aya's. Sure, she was confined to a wheelchair for a couple of months and had to go through intense physical therapy, an excruciating experience by itself, but if anything, the experience had made her the strong girl that she is now. She hadn't escaped without battle scars, but she shrugged them off easily.

Leaving Weiss to live with his sister had crossed Ran's mind more than a couple of times, but he had always thought that he couldn't possibly go back to the little sister that he considered too pure to be associated with the likes of him, an assassin. But there he was...

'Where is Aya?' He thought suddenly, tearing his eyes away from the book he was reading.

As if on cue, a loud girlish voice shouted, "TADAIMA!" Ran broke to a grin, an altogether familiar occurrence around the house. Aya was loud, though not exceedingly so, but enough to shatter any morbid thoughts Ran would currently have. And due to the experience he had gone through, there were a few of them that lingered still.

"Okaeri." Ran said, holding back a sigh. "Where have you been?"

"Uh, Nii-chan?" 

Uh-oh. Ran knew that tone anywhere. What did she do this time?

"What is it, Aya?"

"Uh, there's someone here to see you."

Oh? The first person who came to mind was Schuldich, but the German _should_ know better than to show up at his doorstep without as much as an invitation. Besides, officially, Schuldich didn't know his whereabouts, he'd only maintained contact with Aya and she in turn relayed any information to Ran at his undisclosed location (which is usually in the living room, with a book at hand). He knew Kudou would never dare step foot outside Tokyo, not unless his little fan club came along with him. And Nagi...well, there was that boy from Schwarz. Ran winced, the wounds were far too fresh, the mere thought of Schwarz would sometimes send him into a self-pity mode like no other. And now-

The thought flitted away, just as violet eyes widened when he saw exactly _who_ Aya had brought with her. But his mind—logically rejecting the thought—told himself it **couldn't** be, couldn't possibly be...

"Kon'wa...Ran." Breathed Ken.

Every single thought in his mind froze, hearing that all-too-familiar voice. No one could produce a hallucination this perfect...this **real**. He knew that his mind could be cruel enough to conjure hallucinations, he had seen them before. He had them in his dreams.

He knew this man's face, it haunted his dreams at night and he had touched it a thousand times in his dreams, though in real life he had done it a scant five times. Knew his voice, just like he'd recognize Aya's, or any of his team mates'. He didn't even recognize his parents' voices anymore but he recognized this man's.

He didn't even noticed when his sister stepped out of the room. Hadn't reacted until, a hand reached out and rested on his shoulder, worried brown eyes peering from beneath brown bangs. Voice inquiring, uncertain,

"Ran, are you alright?"

"You're not real." He whispered, more to convince himself than anything. The younger man before him broke to a grin.

"You wish, Fujimiya." He said, even as he reached up to touch the redhead's cheek.

Maybe something inside Ken's touch finally caused reality to kick into Ran's brain, or maybe it awoke something within Ran's memory that recalled this touch and finally conceded that the person before him is indeed Ken and not some illusion his mind had conjured.

A pale hand clasped Ken's and the brown-haired lad grasped it in turn, giving it an affectionate squeeze. As if to say, I'm here and I'm real.

Ran let go the ragged breath he didn't know he'd been holding and pulled Ken quickly into his arms, causing said young man to let out a yelp as he tumbled into familiar arms. He was shaking, Ken noted, but he ignored it and instead tightened his arms around the redhead's waist.

"How?" Ran managed finally. It took all the strength he had not to cry his eyes out right there and then. Fortunately, some rational part of his mind pointed out that his sister was somewhere in the house and undoubtedly she would tease him mercilessly if he were to be reduced into a bawling spectacle. He blinked back a couple of tears that threatened to fall and buried his face in Ken's hair. 

"That," The brunet began, heaving a sigh, "Is a long story." Carefully, Ran pulled away from Ken, looking into his eyes.

"Tell me anyway."

As Ken exhausted himself by telling his story for the second time in the last couple of days, he remained quiet for a few moments, closing his eyes as he recalled the last few minutes that he thought he was about to die. The loneliness that settled in, that surrounded him even as he accepted his fate.

Until he remembered the trapdoor. The one he heard the Este henchmen talked about even as they stuck the needles into him and feel himself go sick through all those tests he had to endure. The very trapdoor he was standing on. Brown eyes lightened at the thought and he stepped back, gathering all the strength he could muster and used his powers to through the damn thing open.

But after a long time of disuse, the amount of moisture around the place and the stale air, the thing had rusted shut. Ken was about ready to give up and just lay there on the floor and die, when he heard the noise he waited for. The sound of metal creaking open, very, very slowly. He eyed the dancing flames, drawn so close by this time. The heat was so unbearable that he didn't even look or think, he just jumped into the darkness that the door exposed. He did use the last bit of power that he had left to slam the thing back shut. The very last thing he saw before his world plunged into total darkness was the bit of flame that had drawn close to the door.

He saw the flickering dancing flame last, even as he leaned back against the cold rock surface of the passage. He froze suddenly. If this is a passage, why can't I feel any air, he thought to himself. Creeping along the site carefully, he suddenly realized that the rock surface he was leaning against was where the passage was suppose to continue on and lead back outside.

The damn thing had collapsed. Possibly due to the instability of the structure itself after the fire.

'And if they do search this place for anything...they won't be able to find me. You can't see this damn door unless you know it exists.' He said to himself. He only found this place because he knew about it in the first place.

"The center tile of the examination room, it's a different shape than the other ones. It's a large rectangle, not a square." One of the lab aids had told another.

'But Kritiker wouldn't know about this. I doubt Omi or Brad would know either.' He slid down to the ground as he felt his heart sink. Out of the fire and into this hell hole. He had the worse luck. The thought caused a bitter laugh to leap forth.

"Someone really wants me dead." He whispered to himself even as he felt the exhaustion taking toll and felt himself slip out of consciousness.

That was the last thing he remembered. It was only much, much later that he found out that Crawford had a vision just as Kritiker agents were searching the grounds for any clues. It had taken them days to dig through the first layer of the rubble. It was amazing that the collapsed passageway had lasted as long as it did for Ken to be safe. Crawford had known of the passage, but had figured that Este would have destroyed it, which they did. Luckily enough there was a little space left for Ken to escape the fire.

It was the other miracle, for the air in that hole to have lasted for so long. But the agents later found out that there was a ventilation shaft not so far from where Ken laid, though it was blocked by a rather large boulder, it still brought in air or the brunet would have died of suffocation.

He didn't know all that, he had been unconscious the whole time. From the time when Kritiker agents had blown open the trapdoor, to the time that one of them had crawled down and hauled Ken out, to the ride in one of Kritiker's emergency vehicles to the hospital.

The next thing he remembered was when he woke up in a white room. He remembered that incident well. It's funny how he noticed the open window first, felt the soft breeze caressing his face instead of the smaller hand that squeezed his own; how he was entranced by the way the white curtains was moved by the breeze. And he remembered the smell, the distinct smell of cherry blossoms in the air, which lingered on in his sense of smell; even though the predominant smell of the room was one of medicine and clean sheets and who knows what else contributes to that funny smell you encounter whenever you're in a hospital.

Even as his mind reminded him gently that it was nearing fall, not exactly the time for cherry blossoms to be blooming. 

'Sakura.' He had thought to himself, mouth curving to a smile that made him look distant to the others. But it was quickly replaced by sadness as he remembered the owner of that name. A girl with light brown hair that he used to know, years ago.

She died in that fire, along with many others. 'Yuriko too.' He thought to himself, the thought echoing in his head. It seemed that all the girls he knew die at an early age. Sakura, Yuriko...Naoko. He closed his eyes again, vision of the cheerful girl in his mind. But instead of the image of her dying in his arms, all he could see was a smiling girl wearing her usual trademark blue shorts, white T-shirt and cap bearing the logo of the Shimitsu S-Pulse.

The smile returned to his face, remembering the many times he fought with her over that cap. He wasn't too fond of S-Pulse, as he liked Kasima himself. But the stubborn girl had maintained that the S-Pulse was the best team. But she did stop wearing the cap after a while, possibly after Kase took her in.

Kase.

His past always haunts him, it seems.

Rozenkreuz.

Strangely, the vision of fire that usually came to his mind whenever he thought of the accursed place did not appear. Nor did the fear that usually accompanied it or the flashes of pain, as his mind recalled the flame dancing on his skin.

His eyes opened, seeing passed Omi's worried face and Crawford's equally worried look—no matter how good he tried to hide it, it was still a worried look—to gaze again at the curtains. Vaguely, he thought of how the dancing curtains seemed to move in sync to how he remembered the flames were in that abandoned room with Kase's dead body lying not so far away.

He let out a short laugh, startling Omi altogether, even Crawford raised an eyebrow. His calm brown gaze rested on Omi and he smiled at the younger man, seeing him for the first time.

"They're gone." He said simply.

"What's gone, Ken-kun?" Omi asked softly, as if he expected Ken to snap at any moment.

"The flames." He replied, the smile widening. "I'm free." And he was enveloped into a warm hug as the younger man held him tight, weeping silently for his friend and brother. Even Crawford walked over to the two of them and gave Ken a pat on the shoulder, something that meant the world to Ken coming from the man who had saved his life once and protected them all. Someone who is like an older brother to him, though he would never admit to it.

The visions faded when a hand was placed on HIS shoulder, this time. Ken looked up, seeing violet eyes staring back at him. A smile graced his features, one that Ran had yet to see, prompting him to gasp softly at the look in those expressive brown eyes.

But all thoughts disappeared as lips met.

The kiss was soft and tender and seemed to stamp a seal on this relationship and on Ken's own life. After everything he had been through, it seemed that the once troubled young man could finally have the life he truly deserved.

They only broke away because they heard a soft cough coming from the end of the room. Violet and brown eyes gazed at the blushing girl, who had a breathtaking smile of her own to display.

"I don't want to disturb you or anything, but uh, Schuldich just called." Aya said, looking at the ground, obviously pleased to see the scene yet also embarrassed. "He, um, wants to talk to Hidaka-san." Ken immediately stood up, Ran along with him.

"It's Ken." The brunet corrected, smiling at the girl. She promptly turned redder, just as she told him the phone was in the hallway and pointed where it was. The brunet walked out the door to answer his phone call.

Ran looked at his sister, who was fanning her red face. He raised an eyebrow at her and she caught the look on his face and pouted. "You didn't tell me he's cute too!" She complained. "Nii-chan, why can't you give the cute ones to me!"

Ran grinned and hugged his little sister. "Sorry Aya-chan, but I'm not letting go of this one."

"That's good." Aya said, even as she jabbed her finger into his ribs. "You let him go and I'll beat you up good...and then I'll keep him for myself." She added with an impish grin, prompting the stoic redhead to laugh.

In the hallway, Ken was in a conversation with Schuldich.

"Enjoying yourself Kenken?" Asked the German in a gleeful voice.

"Put a cork in it, Schuldich. What do you want?"

"Well from the sound of your voice I do believe you've found Herr stick-up-his-ass." Ken could just hear the smirk over the phone and rolled his eyes, even as he replied,

"Why are you calling?"

"**I** want you to give Fujimiya a message from us leftovers. Tell him: Get your ass back here pronto. Or we'll haul your sub-zero hide back, kicking and screaming if we have to." Ken snickered. Youji, Schuldich and Nagi dragging a kicking and screaming Ran would be a sight to see.

"I'd like to see you try." Ken said calmly. "Is that all?"

"No, Herr Schwarz would like to speak with you." He paused, handing over the phone to someone.

"Hidaka." Crawford's clipped tone filled the line.

"Hello to you too, Crawford."

"Remember our agreement, do what you have to do and then get your ass back on the job." The American reminded. "You've been absent from duty for a whole month. Schwarz cannot afford to be out of commission for too long, we must-"

"Return to the field as soon as possible to make up for lost time." Finished Ken, even as he sighed. "Yes, Crawford, I know."

"And the kid is worried." Crawford added in a hushed tone. Omi must have been lingering nearby, or Crawford wouldn't need to lower his voice.

"Tell him I'll come back in a few of days."

"Three. Max."

"It'll be five if you keep that attitude." Warned Ken, slightly pissed that the known group grouch was being his usual stick-up-the-ass self.

"Siberian." Snapped Crawford. "Three."

"Or what? You'll drag me home?" He rolled his eyes. As if. They'd never have the chance to, he'd have thrown them out with a single blow.

The American paused.

"I guess we don't have to worry about you moving then." He finally said. Ken frowned, unsure of what he meant. But then he realized that they were really worried that Ken might like Osaka too much and not come back to Tokyo.

"Crawford, you all are my family. And Tokyo is my home, of course I'll return."

"What are you going to do if Fujimiya decides to stay?" He voiced something Ken didn't want to think about. The brunet closed his eyes and sighed.

"I will still go home. It's his decision to make, but I can't leave my family." Like he can't leave his.

"Then that confirms it. I will see you back in Tokyo."

"In five?"

"However long you want, Hidaka." A dazzling smile appeared on the brunet's face. Too bad no one was around to witness it, even as light danced in brown eyes.

"Thanks Brad."

There was a slight pause.

"You're welcome, Ken." Brown eyes widened and he was about to say something, but he heard the firm 'Click' on the other end. He was left staring at the phone in his hand, a bewildered expression on his face.

He walked back into the living room and saw the expectant looks on the Fujimiya siblings' faces. Aya had blushed again, to Ran's own chagrin and Ken's confusion.

"What did Schuldich want?" Asked Ran, even as his sister punched him playfully on the arm.

The amusement returned to Ken's face as he cleared his throat. "He said and I quote, 'Get your ass back here pronto. Or we'll haul your sub-zero hide back, kicking and screaming if we have to.'"

Aya burst into giggles. "Ooh, sounds like you're in trouble nii-chan! But I have to admit, I'd pay anything to watch that scene."

"That'd be a sight to see, for sure." Ken said, laughing.

"You two are hilarious." The redhead deadpanned. "Is that all?"

"That's all he had to say to me. He handed the phone to Crawford right after that."

"Um, Ken?" Aya asked timidly.

"Yes?"

"Where will you be staying?" She asked innocently. The brunet laughed.

"That reminds me. I've got to call a cab, I've got to go to the hotel." The young girl hid a smile even as she said, 

"Why don't you stay here?" Ran looked slightly uncomfortable, as did Ken.

"Aya, we only have-"

"You can share a room with nii-chan." Aya finished, cutting Ran off. The two male turned bright red. "Oh come on!" Begged the girl. "I want to get to know you! Nii-chan's told me stories about you but I know for a fact that he doesn't know you that well either! Come on!"

"Aya,"

"If you're going to be nii-chan's boyfriend, don't I have to get to know you?"

"B-boyfriend?" Ran managed to choke out. He was on the receiving end of Aya's glare as the girl folded her arms.

"What else is he? You two ARE going to be in some sort of a relationship aren't you?"

The two in question looked at each other. Well, of course they were going to, but that didn't mean that they were going to discuss it in front of Aya. But seeing the persistent girl, they realized that one of them should answer.

"Of course we are. It's just...well..." Ran gave his sister a meaningful look. Aya caught it and rolled her eyes in return.

"Oh honestly!" Her brother smiled and walked over to join the brunet who was having a tough time trying to hide his own smile.

"So?" Ken shrugged.

"If it's alright with you, then." Ran hesitated for a moment, before leaning in to give the younger man a kiss on the forehead and whispering,

"There's nothing I want more." This prompted a squeal from Aya.

"Aaw! You guys are so cute together!" Ken looked down, hiding his embarrassed eyes from sight, even as Ran shot his sister a sour look.

"I'll get the room ready then." He said, even as he gently touched Ken's face, brown eyes revealed once again. "You two can have a little talk while I'm at it." He said to Aya, even as he gazed at the brunet's smiling face.

"Huh? How come!"

"You're the one who said you wanted to know Ken." Ran pointed out even as he walked out of his room.

Being left alone in the room with Aya, wasn't exactly part of Ken's plan. But he knew the young girl was right, they had to get to know each other. In truth, Ken wanted to get to know the girl, she seemed interesting as it is.

She grinned at him, a blush still staining her cheeks even as she sat down on the couch and gestured him to come over. He sat down beside her with an expectant look and the line of questioning began.

"OK. Age, likes, dislikes and....anything you can think of! I want to know everything!" She said, then ranted off with other things she wanted to know about him.

"Whoa! Slow down!" He said, holding his hands up. He was silent for a minute. "I'm 19. Um...likes...Well, I love soccer, more than anything in the world...I like a lot of things actually."

"Tell me something that you truly like then. Anything that comes to mind."

"I like...rainy days. Not something a lot of people like, I know, but I've always find them soothing, somehow. I love just sitting around in my room and watch the world dissolve with the droplets. Don't you think it's strange how everything just turns quiet whenever it's raining?" Aya nodded, yes, she thought so too. "That's when you can truly see things as they are. Of course, it's also lovely to see the world when the rain stops." He paused for a moment, a wistful smile on his face, remembering the time he spent in the hospital when all he had to do was stare out of the window. "When I was in the hospital, all I was able to do was stare at the window. I guess that experience taught me to be grateful at my surroundings, at everything I had. Of the people I have around me." He fell silent, relishing the feeling of tranquility that came from thinking about it.

"Please, go on."

"I like motorcycles. I've got one myself, it's nothing flashy, but...it's my baby." The smile on his face widened. "I'd probably trade her in one of these days, she's getting old." He said with a sigh. "I like teasing Omi, he's like a brother to me. He's a good kid, two years younger but he looks way young for his age." He laughed.

"Nii-chan told me about him. He's dating Nagi, ne?" Ken nodded in confirmation.

"Supposedly, although Omi didn't exactly have much free time since I got out of the hospital. And before I left, Nagi was a little angry that Omi hadn't told him of my status."

Aya was quiet, signaling for him to go on.

"Ah, I also love teasing Crawford. He's our, err..."

"Leader." Finished Aya. "Don't worry I know all about Schwarz...But I wasn't suppose to tell you that."

"No worries, my lips are sealed. Yeah, Crawford can be an ass. Everything about him is all business. I mean, how many men do you know wear a suit around the house, even when it's a day off?" Ken rolled his eyes. "He's also so uptight, so of course, I annoy the hell out of him. I'm kind of, um, clumsy and lazy." Ken looked sheepish as he said this, but Aya giggled.

"Who isn't?"

"I know Ran isn't and Crawford isn't either. He hates it when he has to go to my room, it's a danger-prone area. Anyone who enters my room usually trips over something or other."

"Uh-oh. Nii-chan's going to _love_ that!" Aya said dramatically, rolling her eyes.

"How bad is he?"

"We're talking about THE most anal retentive man in all of Japan. Trust me, he'll MAKE you clean up." Ken groaned, covering his eyes with his hand. "Yup, you're in for it, Ken-kun. Anyways, any dislikes then?"

"Smoking." Ken said flatly. "Nearly got into a fight with Youji when he was on guard duty. Disgusting habit, only those who have absolutely no respect for their body do it." Aya wrinkled her nose.

"I'm with you on that. You know, I better visit Tokyo one of these days, I'll bet I can get Youji to quit."

"From what I've heard, they've all tried. Who knows, maybe you might just do the trick, Aya. That's only one thing though. I'm not too fond of fire, but that fear seemed to have disappeared as of now. Hmm...I don't dislike a lot of things, actually." He smiled again and once again noticed the girl blushed once more. "Aya, why do you blush every time I smile at you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Err, it's just that I don't get to meet guys too often. Not cute ones anyway." She blushed a deeper shade of red as she finished. He raised an eyebrow.

"So I classify as a cute guy?" He teased.

"Oh stop it! You know you're good looking!" She said, pouting. Ken laughed, shaking his head.

"I don't think so, actually. But thanks for the compliment, Aya-chan." The nickname surprised the girl, who beamed happily. Their little conversation was cut off when Ran reappeared.

"How was your little bonding session?" He asked from the doorway.

"Great!" Exclaimed Aya. "Ken-kun's told me a lot about himself!" That was an exaggeration and the girl and younger male knew it, but neither said anything to correct this. But just as suddenly, Aya got up, pointing at the clock. "It's already ten. I'm going to go sleep. Oyasumi nasai Ken-kun! Oyasumi nasai nii-chan!" And she dashed out of the room without another word and without waiting for a reply.

"Now that's the first time I've seen her so eager to go to bed." Ran commented, looking at Ken. His keen eyes saw the fatigue in Ken's eyes as he looked at him carefully. "And you look like you could use some rest too."

"I know." Confessed Ken. "I'm kind of tired."

"Did you have anything to eat yet?"

"Yeah, on the train."

"Wanna sleep?" Ran didn't wait for an answer as he extended his hand to help Ken up. Ken nodded and took the outstretched hand to pull himself to his feet. "Follow me."

Ran's room wasn't exactly big, but it didn't **look** small probably due to the fact that it was actually quite empty. There was only the bed, a nightstand, one armchair placed in one corner with a large standing lamp next to it. The only thing that looked out of place was the mattress on the floor, next to the bed.

"You can change in the bathroom." Ran said, pointing at the bag Ken had behind his back. The brunet nodded, grinning. "And you get the bed, by the way."

"What? No, I can sleep on the floor, it's-"

"Bed." And Ken knew it was the end of that argument. He shrugged.

"Alright." He said as he headed out to where Ran had pointed the bathroom was. It didn't take him too long to change. But even as he looked down at his T-shirt and sweatpants—he abandoned his usual attire of T-shirt and boxers for obvious reasons—he felt nervous. What was he thinking? Alone in a room with Ran? He would have to exercise all of his self-control not to jump the redhead in the dark.

'Maybe I shouldn't have thought of that.' He thought with a groan, fighting the sudden restriction in his pants. 'Damn it.' He turned on the cold water and splashed his face with some of the water. It helped...a little. He took a deep breath, knowing he shouldn't take too long or it'd look suspicious.

'The last thing I want him to think is that I'm doing something _other_ than changing in here.' He thought dryly as he walked back to Ran's room, hauling his bag. Ran had apparently waited for him, standing up and heading out the door just as Ken walked into the room. He smiled and gave the brunet a pat on the shoulder as he brushed past him.

"Ran, are you sure?"

"Sleep on the bed, Ken." Said brunet shrugged, placing his bag on the foot of the bed and proceeded to climb on to the bed. He crawled under the covers and pretended that the fact that the bed smelled entirely of Ran didn't affect him in the least. The owner of the bed reappeared a minute later, closing the door and settling on the mattress.

"Ran?" 

"Hmm?"

"Are you coming back to Tokyo?"

"Looks like I am." Ken rolled over to lie on his stomach and peered down the side of the bed to stare at the redhead who was staring up at him.

"Why are you here in the first place?" A pale hand reached out, touching Ken's face.

"Because it was too painful for me to stay in Tokyo." He replied softly. Ken's head drooped.

"I'm sorry, I should have tried to contact you sooner."

"Don't apologize." Ran chastised him softly. "It's not your fault." He sat up slowly, cradling Ken's cheek with his hand. "I love you, you know that?"

"I know." Came the soft reply. "I love you too." Ken saw the ghost of a smile on the older male's lips and even in the dark Ran saw Ken's tired eyes.

"Sleep." A brown head nodded and Ken laid back on the bed, although he was finding it hard to fall asleep. First of all, it was extremely hard to fall asleep when the object of your affection is sleeping barely a foot away, no matter how sleepy you are. Two, after thinking that he would never be so close to Ran again, never thought he'd ever hear the other say, 'I love you' for the second—or third—time, exercising his self-control was hard to do. And three, it's really hard to sleep when you're hard. The brunet bit back a groan, opting instead to stare at the wall.

'This is brilliant Hidaka, you're never going to sleep if this keeps up.' He thought angrily to himself, unknowing that the redhead sleeping below was in a same predicament.

They had to endure an agonizing half hour until one of them finally spoke again.

"Ken, are you still up?"

"Yeah." The brunet smiled in the dark.

"What's the matter?"

"Can't sleep." Ran sat up, looking at the brunet, who stared back at him from the bed. The older male reached out to stroke Ken's cheek and he in turn sighed contentedly, smiling at him.

"How come? You seemed tired before." The cheek beneath his palm seemed to have grown warmer, but Ran couldn't see the blush on Ken's face because it was too dark to see.

"I, uh, just can't sleep...that's all." Ken said sheepishly, pushing himself up to a sitting position.

"Are you, uncomfortable with me?"

Brown eyes widened. "No!" He exclaimed. "I just-" He stopped suddenly, not knowing how to explain it. How was he suppose to explain to Ran that the reason he couldn't sleep was because his libido wouldn't let him.

The kiss was painfully slow, each savoring the other's taste, fixing it to memory. A tongue traced softly on the other's lower lip and access was granted. But what started as something slow and sweet soon flared into a wet and hot kiss, as tongues seek each other out, each reveling in the new sensation. Hands roamed what was once forbidden territory and moans escaped kiss-bruised lips and shudders coursed down one's body as a particularly sensitive spot was reached. Suddenly the kiss ended and shakily Ken said,

"Ran, your sister-"

"Can't hear us." He whispered, softly panting even as he planted a kiss behind the brunet's ear.

"I can't believe we're doing this." Muttered Ken, voice turning to a moan as his lover kissed his neck, while his hands crept under Ken's shirt. The kisses were put on pause as the hands pulled Ken's shirt up and over his head. Looking down at the younger male's perfect body caused Ran to shudder.

It was getting harder and harder to keep himself in check, but he knew he had to take this slow. He needed Ken to know that he loved him, this wouldn't be just sex. No, there's a difference between fucking and making love, after all.

He bent down, lying claim to Ken's lips once more. Mouth fully engaged in the kiss, one hand crept down, brushing teasingly against the brunet's bare body. Ken's breath hitched and brown eyes flew open as the hand crept still lower and tugged at the waistband of the sweatpants and dived inside.

Ken moaned into the kiss, eyes fluttering close, feeling passion rising from inside of him. The two broke apart, breathless and stared each other for a moment. 

"Are you sure about this, Ken?" Ran asked quietly, even as Ken reached up to pull off his shirt.

"Positive." He replied, as the shirt was tossed away carelessly and he leaned up to kiss Ran. It was all that Ran needed, as hands crept back to the waistband of Ken's pants and tugged it down.

Moonlight fell on the ground beside the futon, lighting up the dark room slightly. Two shadows moved rhythmically in the night, hands roamed over each other's bodies, eager to memorize every detail, hips grinding and mouths let out moans and cries of passion.

And in the stillness of the night they came, within fractions of a second from each other, bodies shuddering and exchanged quiet vows. Then their sated, sweat-sheen bodies pressed tenderly together, as Ken's head rested on Ran's chest and Ran's arms circled Ken's waist.

And the two lovers fell into a deep sleep.

Ken awoke to the pain in his muscles, groaning softly as he opened his eyes. He tried to recall what could possibly have caused the soreness in his body before the feel of a protective warmth reminded him. For a fleeting moment, he wondered whether Aya was able to hear them last night, but shoved that thought away. It was far too embarrassing to think about and he'd rather not ruin the moment.

His lover stirred and violet eyes fluttered open, met with brown eyes. Ken smiled, even though his cheeks were tainted with a blush.

"Morning." He said softly, before leaning forward for a kiss.

"What time is it?" Ran asked groggily, sitting up to look for the clothes that were strewn around the room. He retrieved the watch from under a pair of black sweatpants, Ken's, blinking to read the time. He groaned and lids fell over violet eyes.

"What?"

"It's noon." Brown eyes widened, snatching the watch from Ran's hand.

"Uh...you think Aya..." He blushed scarlet.

"I don't think she heard us last night, but I think she can pretty much guess what went on last night, since I overslept."

"I might as well take a shower then." Ken muttered, reaching for his bag. He hissed as he felt the muscles screaming out in pain. Sudden movements seemed to be a big no, as he felt the soreness settling in.

"Are you alright?" Ran asked.

"Yeah. Just a little sore." He grinned happily, but it was quickly wiped away as soft lips pressed against this own. Much later, as Ken sat on the porch of the small home, Ran's arms wrapped tightly around him, he reflected at his change of luck.

Before he found Ran he had been nothing but one-fourth of an assassin team consisting of four misfits. He had been a member of something special then, a family. But when he found Ran, he also found himself embraced into a new family, another dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless. 

And he had found love.

In the arm of someone who had once broken his heart and yet now held it carefully within his hands. Ken knew they were up for some bumpy roads ahead, as with any relationship. But for once, in his misery-filled life, he actually felt as if he had a chance.

As long as he had Ran with him. With that in mind, he turned his head slightly, only to find a small, content smile fixed on him. His breath caught for a moment as he stared back in wonder, a brilliant smile spreading across his face.

And he could die happy, if only Ran would smile like that for him....forever.

Well that's all, folks. Hope you enjoyed the bedroom scene as much as we liked writing it. (Wai: *still fanning herself* Uh yeah, that was probably horribly-written, but whatever...)Sadly, we've exhausted our Weiss Kreuz fanfic writing for now. (I can just see 'em jump for joy. – Aki) So we're not going to write new stuff for some time, at least no Weiss stuff. We're kind of into Gundam fics and FF8 fics for now (more specifically, SxS fics), so anyone into that genre...read our new stuff! (If we ever finish them... – Aki)

Aki & Wai


End file.
